British cyclist still wins Olympic gold medal despite flat 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. In the final day of the cross-country race, the British cyclist finished first after 1 hour and 26 minutes, surpassing home racer Victor Koretzky. The victory was even more emotional when Pidcock dropped to ninth place when his bike suffered a flat tire.

Thomas Pidcock defended his Olympic gold medal despite a flat tire.

On lap 4 of the 7 laps, Pidcock suddenly had a flat tire. Pidcock's support team was surprised by the incident and reacted slowly, causing him to fall down 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 cyclist, 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 gold with a time of 1 hour 25 minutes 14 seconds.

The moment Thomas Pidcock overtook 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 tire 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 started competing professionally in 2021. His forte is mountain biking. In his first Olympic appearance, he won the prestigious gold medal for the Great Britain (GB) team , 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