elite men XCO podium (l-r): Sam Gaze (New Zealand) with silver, Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) with gold and Nino Schurter (Switzerland) with bronze(Image credit: Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)
Fans celebrate Tom Pidcock’s victory(Image credit: Broadway/SWpix.com)
Tom Pidcock of Great Britain wins the elite men’s cross-country race at Mountain Bike World Championship(Image credit: SWPix.com)
Tom Pidcock on his way to winning Elite Men XCO at UCI Track World Championships (Image credit: SWPix.com)
Huge crowds watched the XCO races(Image credit: Thomas MaheuxSWpixcom)
Tom Pidcock of Great Britain on the way to winning the XCO world championship(Image credit: Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)
Sam Gaze (New Zealand) put in a hard chase to take the silver medal(Image credit: Thomas Maheux/SWpix.com)
Nino Schurter (Switzerland) racing UCI mountain bike world championships at Glentress Forest(Image credit: Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)
South Africa's Alan Hatherly took the front early in the men’s elite XCO race(Image credit: Getty Images)
10-time world champion Nino Schurter of Switzerland(Image credit: Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)
Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) gets a gap on Nino Schurter (Switzerland)(Image credit: Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)
Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) catches up to group led by Luca Schwarbauer (Germany)(Image credit: Thomas MaheuxSWpixcom)
Vlad Dascalu (Romania) finished fifth(Image credit: Thomas MaheuxSWpixcom)
Sam Gaze of New Zealand finished second(Image credit: Thomas Maheux/SWpix.com )
Anton Cooper of New Zealand finished tenth(Image credit: Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)
Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock is catching and passing riders early in the XCO race(Image credit: Thomas Maheux/SWpix.com)
Elite men's XCO race is on!(Image credit: Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)
Starting on the fifth row, the Briton connected with the front group after 31 minutes of racing, and then, two laps later, dropped Schurter to solo to victory.
With one lap to go, Pidcock had a lead of 23 seconds on his closest competitors, but Gaze was not giving up. By the time he crossed the finish line for second place, Gaze, gold at the XCC earlier this week, was only 19 seconds adrift.
The legend Schurter bowed to the crowd as he crossed the line a further 15 seconds later for the bronze medal.
"It’s a massive relief. As soon as I attacked, my gears were jumping all over the place. I didn’t know whether to stop and tidy it up, or I just thought my race could be over at any point, and I couldn’t go properly because I didn't want to put them under too much stress. That was a stressful last few laps," Pidcock said.
The pace was high from the start of the eight laps of racing and never let up.
"I was not making it high, it was not me," Pidcock said of the fast start. "The first five laps were super fast, it was tough to come back from where I was."
In 2021, Pidcock won his first career MTB World Cup in the elite category, just two months before he won the Olympic Gold medal at the Tokyo Games to become the youngest Olympic champion in MTB. This season, he claimed the XCO World Cup win at Nové Mesto in May.
"After last year, I knew, the world champs are another level to the world cups."
Gaze, who started in 38th spot, had to mount a big chase to catch up to the leaders.
"I had to stay consistent and ride my bike as best I can. I was quite unlucky in the start loop and had to pay a little bit for that. But I kept believing in my mind and body and kept pushing all the way to the end. I got hung up behind some things, that's part of mountain biking. My coach said I came through in 45th or so after the start loop so I had my work cut out for me. Full credit to Tom, he's a worthy world champion and there's nothing to be ashamed about being second in the world," Gaze said.
"It was a very hard race, at the end it was full gas. I just focussed on my own race and looked up when I got to the finish. But, you know, it's a bit of imposter syndrome to be between the two greats of cycling. To be a part of this bike race is very humbling."
Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) hastily made his way through the 33 riders in front, making his way to the leaders by the end of the second lap, after 31 minutes of racing and soon an elite trio formed around Hatherly with 10-time World Champion Nino Schurter (Switzerland) locked on the Briton.
As Jordan Sarrou (France) faded and Schurter made his way around him, Pidcock connected with the Swiss rider.
"I was going to ride at the front and try my best to take the rainbows and I stayed there until I couldn’t take it anymore and then just had to bring it home with what I had left. It was an extremely fast race from the beginning, I think we just tried to break away and ride our own race. I think Tom put us under pressure, and that was kind of the end of me," Hatherly said.
"It’s the world champs, there’s nothing to lose. Everyone wants the rainbows, and that’s it. I really went out there and I was hungry for it today and I think I showed that form for the majority of the race."
Hatherly struggled with the pace Pidcock set on the climb on lap six, but Schurter was able to hold the wheel and used the technical descent to come back to the Briton. And then there were two.
Then, Pidcock simply powered away from the experienced Swiss rider, while Hatherly fought to fend off a charge from Kiwi Sam Gaze, who had Victor Koretzky (France) for company.
Gaze continued his charge to catch and pass Hatherly and then Schurter on the final lap.
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