Tom Pidcock was unable to retain his UCI Mountain Bike World Championships title, taking bronze as South African Alan Hatherly powered to a primary rainbow jersey in Andorra.
Hatherly, who took bronze within the Paris Olympics behind Pidcock and Frenchman Victor Koretzky, additionally stood on the third step of the rostrum in Friday’s short-track race.
However he upgraded these third locations with a composed, tactically good journey within the Olympic cross-country, main from the fourth lap and proving too sturdy for his rivals within the closing stage of the race.
He launched an uncharacteristically early assault in direction of the start of the fourth lap and the transfer paid off.
Koretzky had ridden toe-to-toe with the South African all through the course however couldn’t struggle again onto his wheel after Hatherly attacked once more, this time excessive of the steepest of a number of climbs on the ultimate lap.
Koretzky completed 22 seconds behind the South African, who had time to have a good time the most important win of his profession as he approached the road, with Pidcock 39 seconds again on the winner.
The Frenchman would have been the primary man in historical past to win the golden double of each the short-track and cross-country World Championships in the identical yr, having gained the shorter race on Friday. He needed to accept the silver medal to match his Olympic gong of the identical color.
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Paris champion Pidcock appeared fatigued all through the brutal up-and-down course in Pal Arinsal and regardless of a surge within the ultimate lap to overhaul compatriot Charlie Aldridge, he didn’t have the legs to bridge throughout to the main duo of Hatherly and Koretzky.
Aldridge added a hard-fought fourth place to his silver medal within the short-track race and led the sphere on the third lap, leaping into the lead on a technical part, earlier than fading.
Pidcock set off from the primary row however rapidly slipped to twenty first place and expended beneficial vitality maneuvring his manner by means of the bunch.
He fought nicely to nearly get inside attain of Koretzky and Hatherly firstly of the ultimate lap, however the sight of the Olympic champion approaching appeared to spur the main duo to dig deep as soon as extra.
Pidcock was instantly distanced once more and couldn’t drag himself again into competition for gold, whereas Koretzky too suffered from his late acceleration and couldn’t observe Hatherly’s counterattack.
The World Championships programme needed to be altered for the ultimate day of competitors as a result of a heavy thunderstorm forecast to hit Andorra on Sunday afternoon. The entire races had been shortened and introduced ahead within the day, with the boys racing six laps of the hilly, high-altitude course, reasonably than the deliberate seven, and the ladies 5 reasonably than six.
Following the rescheduling the ladies’s elite and under-23 Olympic cross-country races had been held on the similar time. The Netherlands’ Puck Pieterse led the elite discipline for a lot of the day and took a well-deserved rainbow jersey, with compatriot Anne Terpstra second, 59 seconds again.
Italy’s Martina Berta rounded out the rostrum. Nice Britain’s Evie Richards completed sixth, 1:51 down on the winner, having struggled to regain her place following an early crash.
French veteran and Olympic champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was one other alongside Pidcock to presumably endure post-Paris fatigue as she completed 14th within the ultimate mountain bike race of her profession.
