UCI Mountain Bike World Series: Tom Pidcock recovers from fall to win Cross-country Olympic World Cup men's elite race

Updated 14/05/2023 at 17:38 GMT

There was drama aplenty in the Cross-country Olympic World Cup men's elite race in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic on Sunday, with wet weather seeing numerous crashes among the field. Tom Pidcock came off heavily, but he recovered to win in style from closest pursuer Joshua Dubau. Stream the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Series live and on-demand on discovery+ and eurosport.com.

Highlights: Pidcock recovers from nasty fall to take stunning Cross-country Olympic World Cup win

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) recovered from a nasty fall to win the UCI Mountain Bike World Series Cross-country Olympic World Cup men's elite race in Nove Mesto.

Joshua Dubau (RockRider Racing Team) pushed Pidcock to the limit to take second while Nino Schurter (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team) beat Jordan Sarrou (TEAM BMC) to the line to complete the podium.

The result means that Pidcock has completed the double at Nove Mesto following his emphatic win in the UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup men’s elite race on Friday.

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In the Czech drizzle, it was chaos from the start as a crash moments after the race got under way disrupted proceedings.

Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV) avoided the commotion to make the early running, and he was aided by another pile-up behind him on Lap 2 as a decent gap opened up.

But the pack of favourites - including Ineos Grenadiers' Pidcock and world champion Schurter - came back to Schwarzbauer, and Pidcock wasted no time in moving to the front and developing his own lead.

Dubau was the only man who could go with him, but there was drama on Lap 5 as Pidcock first unclipped on a rocky ascent to cede time, and then crashed on a downhill section to give Dubau the lead.

‘Tom Pidcock is down!’ – Race leader crashes during Cross-country Olympic World Cup race

Pidcock had open cuts down his left side, and said afterwards that he suffered a dead leg.

The chase group of Schurter and Sarrou - previously looking completely out of contention - were now only 15 seconds in arrears of Pidcock. Yet, the Brit's focus was firmly on what was in front of him rather than behind.

In pain - he kept looking down at his injured leg - but unperturbed, the 23-year-old European champion went into the feed zone at the end of the fifth lap, steadied himself and set about eating into the lead that Dubau had opened up, which at one point hit 13 seconds.

The crash did not stymie the Brit's aggressive nature and he closed the gap to four seconds at the beginning the penultimate lap. A matter of moments later, he had reeled the Frenchman in.

However, Dubau looked the more comfortable as they traversed the technical course, with mini-gaps re-opening here and there. Pidcock, though, retained his composure, stuck to the wheel of the RockRider Racing Team rider's wheel, and then on the final lap made his move.

The first acceleration came on the penultimate climb of the race. Pidcock eked out a small gap but the elastic would not snap, with Dubau doggedly holding on to the wheel. For now, at least.

Pidcock would again attack on the final climb, and this time Dubau was distanced, allowing Pidcock to saunter home, high-fiving fans along the finishing straight. The winning margin was five seconds.

Schurter beat Sarrou in a two-up sprint to the line to collect the final podium place 23 seconds behind Pidcock. Thomas Griot (Canyon CLLCTV) rounded out the top five.

The win allowed the Ineos Grenadiers rider to collect a World Cup double having won in the short track on Friday.

“It was tricky,” Pidcock said afterwards. “My tyres were a bit hard and I was struggling with the roots but it is nice to win.”