Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot win the UCI cross-country MTB World Championships in Glentress, Scotland

Tom Pidcock on the rostrum on the UCI MTB worlds

Tom Pidcock gained the elite males’s cross-country race on the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Glentress, Scotland, taking the rainbow jersey forward of the newly topped XCC World Champion, Sam Gaze and the 10-time World Champion Nino Schurter.

There had been controversy earlier than the beginning of the race with the UCI altering guidelines to spice up highway stars Pidcock, Mathieu van der Poel and Peter Sagan additional up the grid, somewhat than on the again in line with their MTB rankings, with the UCI admitting the transfer was due to the “added worth” they delivered to the game.

Mathieu van der Poel on the MTB worlds 2023

Regardless of beginning on the fifth row, Pidcock would finally forge away from his rivals and overcome late gearing issues to take the win in entrance of a jubilant crowd.

One among Pidcock’s most important rivals Mathieu van der Poel’s bid for a 3rd world title of the yr after profitable final weekend’s highway race ended abruptly earlier than the beginning of the primary full lap. After a promising begin, shifting up from his fifth-row place, he slid out on the unfastened gravel flip earlier than the start-finish straight touchdown on the identical injured facet from final week’s highway race crash and sadly retired.

Tom Pidcock on the characteristic bounce at Glentress

Straight from the inexperienced gentle, the racing was intense and fast-paced with South African, Alan Hatherly taking an early lead and he continued to remain within the prime three positions earlier than finally fading down the sphere. The relentless tempo was compelled as riders fought to maneuver up rapidly from behind, with Pidcock making his means by 33 riders, and becoming a member of the lead group by the top of the second lap. An elite trio would kind round Hatherley with Schurter and Pidcock opening a spot over the remainder of the sphere.

Pidcock follows Schurter and Hatherly on a climb

Pidcock would finally maneuver himself in entrance of his rivals, and after a number of bursts of velocity on the steep climbs would finally drop Schurter and Hatherly. With one lap to go, Pidcock had constructed a lead of 23 seconds on his closest opponents and the rostrum placings seemed set. Nonetheless, the brand new brief observe World Champion Sam Gaze wasn’t giving up and rapidly handed the fading Hatherly and would finally cross Schurter to take second place and cap a exceptional week in Scotland for the New Zealander. Gaze would end simply 19 seconds behind Pidcock, who had nursed his Pinarello dwelling after struggling gearing points on the ultimate lap.

Tom Pidcock crossing the road on the World Championships

Pidcock mentioned, “As quickly as I attacked, my gears have been leaping in all places. I didn’t know whether or not to cease and tidy it up, or I simply thought my race may very well be over at any level, and I couldn’t go correctly as a result of I did not wish to put them beneath an excessive amount of stress. That was a hectic previous few laps.”

Pidcock’s thrilling victory made him the primary British rider to change into the elite cross-country mountain bike world champion and after the rostrum displays, he jumped into the large crowd and made his means as much as the viewing platform to salute the excited crowd and acknowledge his backroom workforce.

Tom Pidcock salutes the gang

Within the Girls’s race, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot continued the place she had left off in Thursday’s dominant XCC win with one other snug victory within the elite girls’s cross-country race taking gold forward of her compatriot Loana Lecomte. Ferrand-Prévot accomplished the double with ease, catching and passing Lecomte on the second lap. Lacomte had gone clear early however could not match the tempo of Ferrand-Prévot, who constructed an enormous lead over the sphere and took the win with a bonus of over 1 minute over Lecomte and Puck Pieterse who rounded out the rostrum.

It was Ferrand-Prévot’s second successive XCC and XC World Championship double on the Worlds, and it was her fifth XCC world title in complete with wins in 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2022.

Loana Lecomte, Ferrand-Prévot and Pieterse displaying medals on the rostrum at 2023 world champs

Talking afterwards Ferrand-Prévot mentioned, “I’m feeling very pleased. It was a brilliant exhausting race, I didn’t have a superb begin however I wished to maintain my very own tempo throughout the race. I went full gasoline on the climbs after which I attempted to get better on the downhills and it labored out completely. I’m happy with myself as a result of I saved my plan despite the fact that I didn’t have a superb begin.”

Ferrand-Prévot had a lackluster begin and was effectively down on the lead group in twelfth after the opening exchanges. Lecomte led by the opening lap adopted by Pieterse, Neff, Richards and Keller shut behind. Ferrand-Prévot quickly made her means again and with Lecomte opening up a spot to Pieterse, Ferrand-Prévot made her transfer to get throughout to her compatriot on the subsequent climb. The defending champion rapidly caught and overtook Lecomte to take the lead.

Loana Lecomte climbing on the 2023 MTB XC world champs

From then on it was the Ferrand-Prévot exhibition by the Glentress Forest, opening up a giant hole together with her closest rivals left to battle it out for the remaining podium locations. Former world champion Evie Richards made her bid for a medal, becoming a member of Pieterse and Keller and going previous them, however she could not catch Lecomte, who continued to carry off the chasers. Lecomte would trip solo for the remainder of the race, unable to catch her flying teammate.

Puck Pieterse using at Glentress world champs

Behind the struggle for the bronze medal had intensified with Pieterse and Keller dropping Richards and now the Austrian, Mitterwallner would lay down her problem for the rostrum. Solely Pieterse was in a position to observe the Austrian who accelerated into the ultimate lap and it seemed as if Mitterwallner was destined to take bronze, however she ran out of steam within the closing phases and Pieterse emerged to say the bronze.

Ferrand-Prévot using to victory within the 2023 world champs

The week belonged to Ferrand-Prévot, who initially had disliked the Glentress course format saying, “I got here final Saturday. We went to have a look at the lap and I actually didn’t prefer it. Typically you might have a sense in regards to the lap, and that day I didn’t really feel it was for me however all of the week I attempted to work mentally and simply take it day-to-day. Right now I used to be on a mission, I simply wished to go full gasoline and see the outcome on the finish.”

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