British cyclist wins Olympic gold medal despite punctured tire

(VTC News) - Mountain bike racer Thomas Pidcock successfully defended his Olympic gold medal despite his bicycle getting a flat tire in the 4th lap.

"This is probably the most emotionally painful victory I've ever had," said Thomas Pidcock after defending his Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. The British cyclist finished first in the cross-country final after 1 hour and 26 minutes, beating home racer Victor Koretzky. The victory was even more emotional when Pidcock dropped to ninth place at one point when his bike suffered a flat tire.

Thomas Pidcock defends Olympic gold medal despite flat tire.

On lap 4 out of 7, Pidcock's bike suddenly had a flat tire. Pidcock's support team was surprised by the incident and reacted slowly, causing him to fall freely in the rankings. However, Pidcock calmly handled the situation and returned to his best racing form. He finished lap 4 36 seconds slower than the host French rider, but managed to return to the leading group in lap 5. On laps 6 and 7, Pidcock unexpectedly rose to the top of the race, but was pursued by Victor Koretzky. After a tense competition, Pidcock officially finished first with a time of 1 hour 26 minutes 22 seconds, 9 seconds faster than Koretzky. He officially defended his Olympic gold medal in the cross-country racing event. At Tokyo 2021, he also won the gold medal with a time of 1 hour 25 minutes 14 seconds.

The moment Thomas Pidcock overcame Victor Koretzky.

"I never give up. I always give my all, because that's the right thing to do. I've had a tough week, and an equally tough race. Luckily I had the support team. They changed the tyre very quickly, and I was able to race again," Thomas Pidcock said after the race. The 2024 Olympics are not over yet for the British cyclist. On August 3, he continued to compete in the men's 273km road race. Thomas Pidcock will start competing professionally in 2021. His specialty is mountain biking. In his first Olympic appearance, he won the prestigious gold medal for Team GB, before defending his title at Paris 2024. In addition to his success at the Olympics, Pidcock was the 2023 world champion in mountain biking and the 2022 world champion in road cycling. In early 2024, he managed to bag another championship title at the 2024 Amstel Gold Race.

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Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/nguyen-thuy-linh-chia-tay-olympic-2024-pham-thi-hue-hut-hoi-20240731115954063.htm