MTB Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Thomas Pidcock wins by a whisker ahead of Hérault's Victor Koretzky, who still wins the silver medal

Victor Koretzky a longtemps guidé la course en tête. EPA - TOLGA AKMEN

Hérault native Victor Koretzky was in the running this Monday, July 29, to win an Olympic medal in the cyclo-cross mountain bike event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The race was won by Thomas Pidcock.

Gold was within his grasp. The events of the race further reinforced this idea. But Victor Koretzky did not think he would face such a monster, in the person of Thomas Pidcock. What an animal! What a last acceleration from the Briton!

But the 29-year-old from Lodévois, after his 10th place in Rio (2016) and his 5th place in Tokyo (2021), finally has his Olympic medal. He wins silver. The podium is completed by the South African Alan Hatherly.

The Hérault rider didn't get off to the best of starts. Tenth in the first few kilometres, he gradually gained ground to get into the wheel of Tom Pidcock, the big favourite. The latter took a lap to really show his level and take the lead. All the competitors cracked on his first acceleration (Schurter, Sarrou, Gaze, Hatherly, Flueckiger). Except Koretzky.

Impressive Pidcock

The two men rode alone for three laps, until the Briton got a flat tire. He lost forty seconds in the process. The composure given off by the Ineos rider was quite impressive when he joined the technical stand.

Despite the colossal outlay, Pidcock released an enormous expenditure of energy to get back in the wheel of the Frenchman. Enough to disgust more than one… And despite the effort, he won his second Olympic title after a magnificent mano a mano with Koretzky.