Final Results from the Men's XC at the Tokyo Olympics

Jul 25, 2021
by Ed Spratt  
When these rings shows everybody know something big and special is comming. It s the motiv why athletes train so hard and prepare themselfs four years to make their dreams come true.

The results are in from the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Tom Pidcock dominated the racing today after some early battles with Mathias Flueckiger and Nino Schurter. Mathias Flueckiger maintained his top form this year and crossed the line in 2nd, 20 seconds behind Pidcock. David Valero Serrano took the bronze medal today after a fight between Nino Schurter and Victor Koretzky in the final laps. Mathieu Van Der Poel had to pull out of the race after a crash on the first lap knocked him to the back of the field, he did try to make his way back but it was not his race today.

Check out the full results below.



Results


1st. Tom Pidcock: 1:25:14
2nd. Mathias Flueckiger: +20
3rd. David Valero Serrano: +34
4th. Nino Schurter: +42
5th. Victor Koretzky: +46

6th. Anton Cooper: +46
7th. Vlad Dascalu: +49
8th. Alan Hatherly: +1:19
9th. Jordan Sarrou: +1:36
10th. Milan Vader: +2:07



Results

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Live Updates



0:25 am PDT

Tom Pidcock takes the gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games!




0:15 am PDT

Going into the final lap the top five are:

1st. Tom Pidcock: 1:13:23
2nd. Mathias Flueckiger: +14
3rd. David Valero Serrano: +1:05
4th. Nino Schurter: +1:05
5th. Victor Koretzky: +1:05




0:07 am PDT

Ondrej Cink has a flat tire after riding into the top six.




0:03 am PDT

Mathieu Van Der Poel has now pulled out of the race.




0:03 am PDT

The current top five after the fifth lap are:

1st. Tom Pidcock: 1:01:31
2nd. Mathias Flueckiger: +11
3rd. Anton Cooper: +48
4th. Nino Schurter: +54
5th. Victor Koretzky: +54




0:00 am PDT

The gap is now around 13 seconds between Pidock and Flueckiger.




23:58 pm PDT

Mathias Flueckiger looked to be closing in on Tom Pidcock but he slips on a dusty climb and has to run up the section.




23:51 pm PDT

The current top five after the fourth lap are:

1st. Tom Pidcock: 49:46
2nd. Mathias Flueckiger: +6
3rd. Anton Cooper: +38
4th. Nino Schurter: +38
5th. Victor Koretzky: +38




23:47 pm PDT

Mathias Flueckiger has pulled in Tom Pidcock with a 2-second gap but Nino Schurter is now 15 seconds off the leader.




23:44 pm PDT

It looks like Tom Pidcock is starting to build a decent gap at the front of the race.




23:43 pm PDT

Mathieu Van Der Poel is fighting his way back through the race after his big crash and now sits in 15th place.




23:40 pm PDT

Tom Pidcock launches another attack on the first climb of lap four and takes the lead.




23:39 pm PDT

The current top five after the third lap are:

1st. Nino Schurter: 38:29
2nd. Mathias Flueckiger: +0
3rd. Tom Pidcock: +1
4th. Anton Cooper: +1
5th. Ondrej Cink: +7




23:37 pm PDT

The speed is extremely high at the front but Tom Pidcock, Nino Schurter and Mathias Flueckiger are still riding together.




23:33 pm PDT

Tom Pidcock attacks at the front and passes both Nino Schurter and Mathias Flueckiger.




23:31 pm PDT

Nino Schurter is putting on a big effort and retakes the lead with Mathias Flueckiger closely following. Tom Pidcock has fallen slightly back with a six-second gap to the two leaders.




23:28 pm PDT

The current top five after the second lap are:

1st. Mathias Flueckiger: 26:41
2nd. Tom Pidcock: +1
3rd. Nino Schurter: +1
4th. Victor Koretzky: +4
5th. Anton Cooper: +5




23:19 pm PDT

Mathias Flueckiger has shot up four places into second and is right on Nino's rear wheel.




23:18 pm PDT

Mathieu Van Der Poel is still in the race but he is around a minute off the leader.




23:17 pm PDT

Nino Schurter now takes the lead at the start of the first lap. Nino is followed by Milan Vader and Henrique Avancini.




23:16 pm PDT

The current top five after the first lap are:

1st. Henrique Avancini: 15:06
2nd. Nino Schurter: +1
3rd. Milan Vader: +1
4th. Victor Koretzky: +1
5th. Tom Pidcock: +2




23:10 pm PDT

A massive crash for Mathieu Van Der Poel on the big drop.




23:07 pm PDT

Henrique Avancini is now leading with Milan Vader closely following in second place and Nino Schurter in third.




23:04 pm PDT

The current top five after the start loop are:

1st. Milan Vader: 2:55
2nd. Victor Koretzky: +0
3rd. Mathias Flueckiger: +0
4th. Anton Cooper: +1
5th. Gerhard Kerschbaumer: +1




23:03 pm PDT

Conditions are looking very dusty on course at the moment and Tom Pidcock has had an amazing start moving to the front of the race after starting on the 4th row




23:01 pm PDT

Racing is now underway for the Tokyo Olympics XC, Jordan Sarrou leads off the line for the biggest race of the year.





Author Info:
edspratt avatar

Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,006 articles

211 Comments
  • 159 0
 Watching this you realise how good the Red Bull coverage is.
  • 77 0
 What?? I can't hear you over the sound of the helicopter!
  • 13 0
 @MtbSince84: IT'S WHISPER QUIET!
  • 127 0
 The German commentator was like:

Oh Milan Vader crashed out. Oh no, it was MvdP. I think he is one of the favorites...too bad then.

Rob would have been like: NOOOOOOOOOO MASSIVE CRASH BY MvdP. THIS DROP JUST SENT HIM FLYING. WHAT A SHAME. NOOOOOO.
  • 22 0
 I’m usually a big fan of BBC coverage, but it isn’t the same without Rob Warner!
  • 4 10
flag jetos (Jul 26, 2021 at 1:01) (Below Threshold)
 @jayjay1989: Even Rob and Bart make some mistakes recognising the riders, especially when they are chatting about some backgorund stuff. so dont be too harsh here

Naß makes a good job commentating cycling stuff in germany,even though he is more of a road expert.
Its also much better than the german red bull coverage( which is the worst imho)
None the less a a co-commentator would have been a great addition.
  • 10 0
 @MtbSince84: if it’s the same announcers as the road races, the helicopter is doing us all a favor.
  • 19 0
 Can't upvote enough... In Spain, in one channel they prefered to air a basket game, in which Spain was not even playing, and a badminton game in the other olympic sports channel... They only connected for the last four minutes of the race after probably someone told them that there was a chance of a bronze medal...
  • 9 0
 @lewiscraik: BBC coverage was rubbish! they didnt seem to know anything about biking
  • 8 0
 @Davichin: IN UK, they only realized halfway that anyone would want to watch Mountain biking on BBC1
So sad they had no clue?
  • 3 0
 @aljoburr: To be fair the other Tom, who seems to have more public awareness than his results seem to justify, was on at a silimar time. I’m just pretty stoked that there was some MTB on BBC1 at all. Hopefully it will be the same tomorrow morning!
  • 1 0
 @mh731: I'm not sure they did; it would be like getting a F1 commentator to cover the WRC.....a completely different sport.
  • 4 0
 Here in The Netherlands we at least had some comment by Bart Brentjens, which gave us some of the good old Red Bull feelings. (I don't mean the overly sweet taste in your mouth and your heart racing.) Olympic camera angles were OK, moving markers were cool, an overview of the position of the rider on the course was nice too. Missed the comments by Rob, the nice list of riders on the left, and the minute sections timings. Mostly missed the more dynamic camera work and the 'detail' shots. Reb Bull coverage is indeed very good when compared! How about RB also adds moving markers and altitude overview? Best of both!
(We had terrible sections in between of the archery final - NOOOOOOO all by myself)
  • 1 0
 @mh731: I ended up watching the Swiss coverage as the BBC was covering the diving. I guess Britain's women (and a few guys) were happy though!
  • 2 0
 In the states we had Bob roll which wasn't horrible and some other dude who have no idea. I feel like Phil Liggett should have been commenting with him.
  • 1 0
 Red Bull Coverage is great, but I had no problem with the NBCSports coverage. I did not mind the Helicopters and the crowd noise, and did not mind the announcer voices were toned down because I still heard everything. however, the COMMENTATING was just Horrible! Red Bull Announcers always have great commentating.
  • 2 0
 The nbc-replay coverage of the men's road race was also really terrible. Like the announcers didn't understand racing and didn't know who the riders were.
  • 1 0
 I kept thinking the same thing, miss Red Bull guys
  • 76 2
 Massive with for Pidcock! Dominant!

Up yours BC, you gonna start supporting MTB a bit now!?
  • 28 0
 I’m stoked for Tom Pidcock, but equally excited at the prospect of extra funding for MTB that comes from an Olympic medal. Hopefully BC don’t squander it on road/track.
  • 18 0
 We badly need a XCO World Cup round; there are plenty of venues, surely? As he's from Yorkshire, what about a return to Dalby? I'd think maybe Wales could be good, or even Malvern - it's all about raising the £££££ to host it.
  • 20 0
 Wouldn't be surprised if BC did nothing, from their point of view they provide little funding to MTB and have won a medal, so why bother throwing more money at it Big Grin
  • 7 0
 There's a south west venue that's apparently gearing up to host a world cup...
  • 23 0
 With Evie Richards being a strong medal prospect as well you would think this is the time for British Cycling to properly invest in the sport. We've got into this position in spite of them, rather than because of them.

I can understand the return on investment you get in terms of medals for track cycling, but how many kids have access to a velodrome? Compare that to the percentage of kids who have access to a bike that can be ridden off road (doesn't have to be a "proper" mtb) and some sort of offroad space you can mess about and do skids on. They should be incentivized to think more about the long term benefits of the medals they chase.
  • 57 0
 Ahhhhhhh British Cycling, not British Columbia.
  • 16 1
 @Clarkeh: Oh yeah, British Cycling! Not Egyptians, Romans and Mesopotamians.
  • 3 0
 @elbandido77: We need more trail centres and not just DH parks. I live relatively close to Aston Hill and I don't have the skill to ride Aston Hill so all my rides are bridleway bashing. Something BC could fix now that we have medals
  • 3 0
 Yeah
Just 1 lap of the Beast at Coed y Brenig , plenty challenging enough for XC @Starch-Anton:
  • 3 0
 @elbandido77: Exactly! Which is why I mentioned Malvern; Evie, and Hattie are both from there......
  • 10 0
 Yeh good on Pidcock!
Unfortunately British Cycling are worse than useless when it comes to mountain biking though. If they were just useless that would be fine, instead they are actively discouraging and try to make things as difficult as possible for riders(including those who earn a living from the sport) for absolutely no reason other than to be wankers, it's quite telling on the organisations overall feeling towards MTB in general. Don't see them changing their ways because of an olympic medal unless the personnel and attitude within BC changes first.
  • 6 0
 @Clarkeh: British Columbia was my first thought too. I was thinking why is he slamming British Columbia. Haha.
  • 1 0
 It's a bummer, though, that Pidcock probably won't be racing that many MTB world cups. I don't blame him, he's a pro and will go where he can earn during the limited time he has at peak competitiveness. But it'd be easier to translate olympic visibility into increased support if the champ were actually racing the sport at the highest level.
  • 4 0
 @elbandido77: You might think that. I've learned two things over the years. First, that BC is a very political organization. Second, when you combine politics and money things seldom make sense, common or otherwise.
  • 1 0
 @elbandido77:
But that’s exactly why they choose them, easier to pick up medals for less popular sports.
  • 42 0
 Loic Bruni is right now complaining on Instagram that France TV Sport is streaming fencing and not thr XCO. I feel his pain as CBC doesn't seem to be streaming it either. Arg.
  • 3 0
 @samhillseyebrows: not in Estonia :'-(
  • 5 0
 @samhillseyebrows: Ah thanks. You made me figure out how to search their website. (For anyone else, you have to hit the Live Now button and then hit the show more button multiple times. The main Olympic page shows some of the live broadcasts but there isn't the Show More button.)
  • 15 2
 The problem is that Discovery got the rights and put most behind a paywall. Sounds familiar?
  • 6 0
 CBC had it online, but holy the announcers are bland… Rob & Reece would been waaaaaayyyyy better..
  • 2 0
 so he's better with a bike than the internet haha! you get the full coverage of what you want for free on francetvsport...without commentators that's not a bad thing.
  • 3 0
 In Spain even worse... They connect 1min before Valero took the bronze... Even having a record of a medal in all the last 3 olimpics they can't give us a mtb race every 4 years...
  • 4 0
 @Clem-mk: One of the two commentators is Absalon, he knows a thing or two about xco. Plus they'd give extra info on stuff happening outside the fov of the camera.
I just wish, like in many sports, that the expert spoke more, and the generic journalist less. Their insight is so much better. One knows mostly his notes (which is fine, there are only so many sports you can be proficient in) while the other has better there, done that, won these. He knows most of the racers and can put himself in their head.
  • 1 0
 @polarproton: i heard about Absalon to comment xco, i just don't get the comment on the website by choosing the full live, i only have the raw sounds...maybe i missed an option?
  • 1 0
 @samhillseyebrows: Not available in the US. It is country paywalls.
  • 1 0
 @Clem-mk: It was only on the main broadcast, which was kind of silly in my opinion as we'd get only comments on blimps o fthe race. It would have been better for the viewer, and maybe more rewarding for the commentators to cast whole events....they need to sit through their entirety anyway.
  • 22 0
 Then the BBC switches to f-ing canoeing????
  • 4 0
 MTB moved to bbc1
  • 16 0
 @iainmaclellan: Yeah, funny how that start to care about MTB when it looks like Britain might get a medal LOLz
  • 4 0
 Apparently this Olympics the BBC only have rights to two simulatanous streams, as opposed to the 26 they had going on for 2012...
  • 4 0
 Ouch!
  • 10 0
 @Augustus-G: Milan Vader: "It may be hard to say, but we've talked about this at lunch. He asked me why everyone jumped off the rocks, when you can also roll off them. I then told him that they would remove those planks. After all, they also did that at the Test Event in 2019." nos.nl/tokyo2020/artikel/2390907-van-der-poel-naar-ziekenhuis-tokio-mathieu-dacht-dat-het-plankje-er-nog-lag

Mathieu Van der Poel: "Ik was niet op de hoogte, die plank lag er tijdens de verkenning wel. Enkel meegekregen dat hij op het testevent was weggehaald" twitter.com/mathieuvdpoel/status/1419573776082030595
  • 11 0
 Nasty fall indeed but I am distracted by the tweets from a few Dutch people moaning about the course being too technical......... If you've ever MTB'd in Holland you would understand why. It's flat. Very flat. A drop off here is maaaaaaaybe 2 feet. If that.

Smile
  • 4 0
 @dolores: that makes more sense, watching I was like he slowed into the drop like he was going to roll it what was he doing?
  • 16 0
 Pidcock did well not to stack it into the back of MVdP there, it’s so distracting when that happens in front of you. Epic ride from Pidcock, gutted for MVdP though.
  • 4 0
 Love that you can just see Pidcock's tyres in the shot, already in the air, yet somehow he misses MVDP.
  • 3 0
 @butchy020: Pidcock is an excellent driver
  • 2 0
 Heavy OTB crash. Did not look good at all.
  • 2 0
 @dolores: Sometimes, you get something in your head and even though you've been told something to the contrary your brain gets stuck on the original thought. I suspect this is the case here.

Thanks for the links!
  • 22 4
 What's depressing about this is that now we 100% now that the best XC riders are over on the road. I used to think it was a choice people made based on preference, but now I can see the money on the road strips XC of the real halo talent.
  • 10 1
 Isn't that down to the sport to make it more valuable for the sponsors, bike manufacturers? A World Cup with only 6-7 rounds is a bit pathetic. It's a long time since the mid 90s heyday.....
  • 6 1
 This is the way. Growing up racing U14/16 and Juniors, most of the top 10 of XC also raced road. There are so few opportunities to get a contract in XC in UK, Road has better prize money, more recognition, and more opportunities of youth academies in Belgium etc that any sniff of talent is snapped up by road teams.
  • 15 2
 Actually, it seems to work another way around: MvdP and Pidcock were CX and road talents first and they now choose to race their MTB.
There's nothing depressing about that in my book: These are super-cyclists that can do it all and they draw more attention to MTB than ever.
  • 1 0
 @jeroenk: they chose to try and win Olympic medals / World champs.

I'd be surprised if we see much more of them on the circuit for a while now.

Also, look at prev junior XC world champions that are over on the road full time now. There are a bunch.
  • 3 0
 @Starch-Anton: @chillescarpe

I agree. It's not an individuals issue. It defo seems a funding, sustainability thing.

It doesn't take an expert to remember remember Pro rider responses to the financial survey questions a few months ago and make those links.

It's just a shame is all, that you deep down, know, that the XCO guys, despite been ludicrously talented and far better than I could ever dream of being, are possibly not the real top of the top cyclists.
  • 3 0
 @jeroenk: yeah, I hope their team will still incorporate MTB racing into their schedule for many years to come. Might be stretching it a little bit, but after what Hattie Harnden accomplish in EWS and World Cup XC, I really want to see Pidcock dabbing his feet in EWS.
  • 5 0
 @jeroenk: Pidcock stated that he was a mountain biker first and started road cycling because there was more competitive local racing
  • 1 0
 @ghaas: that's an interesting point. Especially as I live in the same area of the same city! There is still definitely more opportunities to ride road races as a junior here, with the Brownlee legacy and strong Yorkshire road bias.
  • 2 0
 Ryder Hesjedal said this years and years ago, that road was where the money was, not possible to make a good living as an XC rider, even a Canadian one.
Hopefully Pidcock loves XC enough that he will continue throughout his (road) career.
  • 1 0
 @Gingerflash1975: yeah. I assume he'll be back around to defend this. And maybe aim World champ too?

It seems he has the flexibility within the team to do that for now. But as his road career develops I assume he'll need to specialise.
  • 3 0
 @lister11: The other problem is races. Where I am from there are 2 or 3 road races on each week, whereby only 6 or 7 races a year for XC. So if you want to gain experience, get sponsors, and get recognised, you have a much better chance of doing well attending as many races as possible. Prize money is bigger, there are more investors, more sponsors and teams are better set up.
  • 4 0
 I think it’s important to note that Pidcock and Mvdp are the very best in CX and Road as well. It’s not like half the road peloton could come over and win XC races.

We know that on the road there will be higher levels of power and power to weight but with the combination of technical skills required and the hour and half format there’s probably more threats coming from CX. I think there would be about 5-10 guys at the top level of each discipline that could come over and be competitive in XCO. However only Wout van Aert I’d give a chance to win just since him and Mvdp always end up racing together.
  • 5 0
 @bruvar: Agree, too many people ( mainly roadies ) think you can just turn up, and they'll win. They can't - the technical parts would give them problems. As would the flat out pace from start to finish.

As for the CX, MTB crossover - very few do this anymore. I did some research the other day, and in the first Olympic MTB race, in Atlanta 1996; over half the Top 10 had World Championship medals in both CX, and MTB. Of the current riders, only MvdP & Eva Lechner have won Elite World Cup races at both disciplines - though PF-P has won World Championships at both.
  • 4 0
 @Starch-Anton: and Evie Richards - u23 CX world champion
  • 2 0
 @Starch-Anton: Yes, it used to be much more common to be an "All Around Cyclist".
The most disappointing thing I found when I returned to the cycling world was how cliquish it had become. The disdain and animosity between Road and MTB, gravity and XC, etc. I hope folks like Pidcock, MVP, PFP can change this in the general ridership.

Get on your bike and ride, whatever kind it may be.
  • 19 0
 Amazing finish from Serrano, who had best result 15th place this season in World Cup.
  • 2 0
 He had 3 world cup podiums (top 5s) in 2017, but none since.

www.rootsandrain.com/rider85644/david-valero-serrano/results
  • 16 0
 Gutted by MvdP but equally surprised that there was confusion about whether the ladder has been removed or not - since the rest of the guys seemed to be aware of the situation.

You would assume that when preparing for an Olympic event nothing is left to chance and all details are considered.

But on similar terms, the dutch women's squad lost the road race because they weren't used to race without radio and got confused how many breakaway riders there were left. Maybe a little too over confident?
  • 7 14
flag bicyclebeardface (Jul 26, 2021 at 5:41) (Below Threshold)
 I seems strange to me to have a mandatory drop that big on an xc race.
  • 4 0
 @bicyclebeardface: I think there was a B line to the left. Dont think anyone took it. Possibly some of the lower down women in the first lap traffic tomorrow?
  • 3 0
 ^ maybe not, looking at the MVDP crash, the bit I thought was the B-line has an official/cameraman walking on it.
  • 1 0
 @AyJayDoubleyou: The cameraman is in a pocket between the A & B Lines.
  • 16 0
 Why is all I can hear helicopters and cicadas? Do they have cicadas in Japan??? Did NBC give the broadcasters potato microphones??

So many questions
  • 8 0
 It's like nobody there knows how to run an audio mixer. The recaps on the Olympic Channel (also NBC) have the same problem.
  • 5 17
flag Serpentras (Jul 26, 2021 at 0:49) (Below Threshold)
 Fuck the UCI, they are the Cancer. DH and all the other MTB shredders don't need those whimps.
  • 10 0
 @Serpentras: Remind me: What does the UCI have to do with the broadcast of the Olympics games?
  • 12 0
 Not again, this time Cink out due to flat tire Frown (((( Two of my favorite riders
  • 12 0
 Just to mention that Thomas Pidcock's bike has Suntour fork/shock and Continental tires
  • 2 0
 He has been testing a electronic suspension system. Possibly a offshoot from pinerello road suspension used in paris roubaix bikes years ago

www.brujulabike.com/tom-pidcock-suspension-system-new-pictures
  • 3 0
 @gcrider: I think this was the first time he's used it in a race, only in training and recce prior to today.
  • 2 0
 Cool.didnt know or see his setup as he was riding too bloody fast!!!
And rst is the worlds largest suspension manufacturer and manufacture for other big brands. So they knowwhat they are doing. Even if they dont go after the high end of the market. Continental have a good reputation in road rubber. But dont get much love on Pinkbike from the DH kids. I have never bought continental that I recall in the last 20 years @Gingerflash1975:
  • 4 0
 @gcrider: bold risk given how his team managed to f*ck up off-the-shelf AXS at his first short track race.
  • 6 0
 And he's riding a blacked-out BMC bike, which is an excellent promotion for BMC since his sponsors bought him a bunch of bikes from different brands to test and that's the one he chose.
  • 10 1
 Bummer about MVP. Hope he’s ok. I was looking forward to him and Pidcock squaring off. But that looked so easy for Piscoxk I’m not sure it would have been that close of a race.
  • 14 3
 Can someone please tell me why we don’t have a DH race at the Olympics?
  • 32 5
 Cos DH don't need the bs.
  • 47 3
 The Olympic committee feel DH results could be skewed by equipment use which is against the ethos of the Olympics.

As in it’s unfair on athletes from Mozambique because they can’t afford a V-10.

In a way it makes sense but in modern day it’s silly because developing nations also can’t afford the training / diet / physio of the powerhouse nations anyway.

Don’t see too many competitors from Mozambique enter the equestrian events and a I expect the XC mtb winner isn’t competing on a huffy. So ultimately it’s B.S.

Final point the UCI don’t give a f*ck about DH so probably make no effort to get it into the Olympics
  • 22 2
 @klunkykona: but riders from Mozambique can afford a $10k XC bike? That argument doesn't really hold up. Expensive bikes are expensive regardless of discipline.
  • 12 0
 @seraph: yep totally agree hence my huffy comment.

That’s the reason the olympic committee give.
  • 27 1
 @klunkykona: It would have to be entirely the UCI. Sporting bodies need to push for their own sports to be included and then the IOC decides what to do. A few bribes might help.

Equestrian dressage takes the cake for stupidest and least inclusive (just for rich snobs) event. One of the Aussie "athletes" is 66 years old. Might as well put dog agility trials in there (would be way better as well).
  • 7 0
 @BigAlfonz: Is that not the amazing thing about the Olympics though? Loads of sports you basically never see otherwise. It's like school sports day all over again.

Pidcock is on fire, crazy to think he almost wasn't allocated a spot
  • 13 0
 I'd say it's largely about the venues. Normally summer olympics don't need to be held anywhere near mountains high enough for a proper DH course. Even the XC tracks are largely man-made. The logistics of DH could be too hard.

I don't think it's the old "DH is too niche for the IOC" when for example skateboarding has two disciplines there.
  • 2 0
 @bananowy: I think that's traditionally been one of the arguments, but France have proposed holding the surfing in Tahiti for the 2024 Olympics, so I'd say pretty much anything goes now.
  • 4 0
 @BigAlfonz: I think it may have something to do with the number of disciplines the IOC is willing to add. That's why when climbing got introduced this year, they had to make up a weird 'combined' discipline that meant that competitors had to do sport climbing, bouldering and speed climbing (got to keep those Russians happy) under one umbrella. Making people who specialise in bouldering do sport and vice versa is pretty analogous to making DH riders do XC. Nobody is happy about it, but the IOC were only allowing one discipline of climbing to be added so the IFSC made up some random combined event (with the end result that still nobody is happy about it - ideal). I assume when they allowed there to be a mountain bike race it will have been a case of allocating one event to it, and XC is probably the simplest logistically and easiest to recognise as being 'mountain biking'. Once you've got an event in I think it's generally hard to really get more added to it as the IOC want to broaden the range of sports involved, and consequently the amount of eyeballs their coverage is likely to receive (and therefore advertising revenue they can make).
  • 1 0
 @CleanZine: I always thought the simple test of inclusion should be "do the olympics represent the pinnacle achievement of your sport?" if the answer is yes, you're in.

In: all running, jumping, swimming
Out: football, tennis, golf, road cycling but not xc (where MvdP, Pidcock have shown this a priority on their calendar).

Would this be the top event for DH?
  • 5 0
 There is a limit to the number of cycling events, if one is added, one has to go. That makes it difficult for any new event to get the Olympic tic of approval.
  • 2 0
 @CleanZine: so you’re saying if they tried to combine events we would end up with a combination of road and XC together- basically doing thenXC course on a gravel bike? I can think of all kinds of terrible combos that would be entertaining from a “what a terrible idea” point of view. Such as road races on DH bikes
  • 1 0
 @CleanZine: Are climbers actually that unhappy about it? I didn't have that impression watching various national and world comps in this format in the build up and listening to interviews etc. Speed is a bit of a black sheep but it's just one of the three and rarely (if ever) the deciding one so far. I think if IOC can only allow one climbing event, it's better this way than only having sport or bouldering and specialists in one of the other being out of luck. It's a better showcase to the general public of what climbing can include and promoting versatile athletes. I've definitely enjoyed watching combined comps, not least because they are simply longer, so more of a good thing.

That being said, there are much bigger differences between disciplines in mtb so of course there's no way they do a combined XC/DH event. Plus again, the logistics of DH.

@rsbromley True, it's not like they absolutely stick to one location these days although IMHO they probably should. I mean yeah, surely Tahiti is a surfing heaven but will those athletes even feel like they're at the olympics being thousands of miles away from the main event?
  • 3 0
 @seraph: Maybe they feel the bike makes more difference in DH than in XC.
Would Pidcock be competitive on a £4k XC bike? probably yes.
Would a top DH rider be competitive on a £4k DH bike? Maybe not so much.
(not saying they're right, just maybe that's the logic)
  • 5 0
 @bananowy: Yes, climbers are unhappy but they were told to STFU. Athletes representative (Sean McColl) voted for it even though most top athletes were against.
Speed climbing does not belong to sports climbing, it's an ex-soviet gymnast discipline which no sport climber usually does, something born in the 80's which should have died long time ago, like style competitions. I understand that IOC only granted a single medal for climbing but a bouldering/lead combination would have been enough and most top athletes agree with this.
The problem with speed is that it makes it harder to qualify for Olympics even though most top climbers could easily swap between lead and bouldering.
As as example, you have Ludovico Fossali representing Italy because he won the Speed World Champs but he's not strong in bouldering nor lead, his level is nowhere near what's required to get into a WC Semifinals in any of these disciplines. On the other side, you have Stefano Ghisolfi, who wins WC lead and can easily get into a bouldering Semi, left out of the Olympics.
So yes, most top athletes are not happy with it but where told to swallow it or stay home, with the intention by the IFSC that the sport becomes more trendy after Tokyo and then they would be allowed 3 medals.
  • 1 0
 How much would setting up a DH course cost, compared to an XC one?

Also, how much use would the course likely get AFTER the Olympics are over?

I’m thinking that this probably is one rationale for not having DH yet. I know in Vancouver, pretty much everything that was built for the Olympics is likely getting some use after the fact, just so that we get as much value for every dollar spent as possible.
  • 1 0
 @dick-pound: So it's pretty much speed that's the problem, not the basic idea of more than one discipline in one medal? I take it athletes would be happy with a lead/bouldering combo? I do agree including speed isn't ideal, but on the other hand I don't think I'd like it to be only lead or only bouldering.

Bummer about the qualifying issues, I didn't think about that.

Bit optimistic to count on two disciplines being ditched in favour of two more medals for climbing next time on IFSC's part but we'll see.
  • 1 0
 @johnny2shoes: crazy is that he broke his collarbone in 5 places in June
  • 2 0
 @CleanZine:
When they added MTB for the Atlanta games they removed Team Time Trial to make room for it. I don't know what cycling discipline would need to be removed to add something like DH to the games.
  • 2 0
 @bananowy: Speed was definitely the biggest objection. It's so alien compared to the other disciplines in terms of format, ethos, training and so on that it seems odd to effectively give it the same worth/value as other disciplines. That said, I'd say the majority of immediate feedback I saw about the format reveal showed that a lot of people weren't too stoked on it. As someone else mentioned above, the advice for them was to do one, so I think it's just faded away as time has passed. There are probably enough climbers who are proficient enough in both bouldering and lead that the spots would get filled up fairly quickly and easily, so it's not like there would ever be a full boycott or anything meaningful like that.
  • 2 0
 @Dem628: Speed is so alien to bouldering and lead climbing that it would probably be like your example of road and XC, but with dirt jumping thrown in there too.
  • 2 2
 @ColquhounerHooner: How many medal events do we have for swimming? 100m breaststroke; 200m breaststroke; 200 IM; 400 IM… it’s like 20+. Then they have all the relays!
Also, Skateboarding is new this year with 2x disciplines. So I call BS on the too many disciplines theory.
The venue excuse isn’t really an issue either. Finding a DH venue won’t be as complex as finding a good surfing venue!
So far all responses harp on bs assumptions.
The only decent reason I can think of is that DH doesn’t need to deal with the BS associated with the Olympics.
But it could be really cool. And I believe DH meets all the IOC’s competitive circuit requirements to qualify.
It’s only a matter of time.
  • 11 0
 Looks like MvdP fell off a canyon!
  • 10 0
 I want to see Mike Levy right now, he must be ecstatic with Nino in the front like that Big Grin
  • 1 0
 yeah, 8 seconds from the podium, %"·$%!!!
  • 9 0
 UK 4 the win! LOOK AT THE TIIIIIIIME!!! Warner would go nutz now...
  • 9 0
 That course looked sick! I wanna ride it
  • 1 1
 Totally. Especially after a little rain.
  • 7 0
 Gutted for Cink Frown After the lap 1 when he got stuck behind Sarrou (between 10-15th position), then worked hard until got 3rd 3 laps to go and cracked his rear rim + lost air
  • 7 0
 Communication break down or not, kind of crazy that they change the course from practice to the final event.
  • 8 0
 Impressive stuff from Pidcock
  • 7 0
 Way to go Blevins!! Nice work for your first year with the big guns. Congratulations and keep up the good work.
  • 5 1
 I grew up racing XC but always thought downhill would make more sense at the olympics— easier to cover/televise, would attract more viewership, make the whole sport look more interesting, a good compliment to gravity-oriented events in the Winter Olympics, etc.
  • 4 7
 Why would DH make the sport look more interesting than XC? It has far less participation than XC.
  • 6 1
 @LeDuke:Have you ever watched a dh race?
  • 5 3
 @LeDuke: it’s much more of an action sport than XC, it’s faster, looks more impressive, no Lycra…
  • 6 1
 This race was an excellent representation in that respect. A course filled with interesting technical features, probably very easy to televise, not sure why you would say the opposite. There was an excellent coverage of the many technical features either way. I'm impressed with XC nowadays, it's really technical and has features that would be respectable on an enduro or even DH race. And the XC attire - nothing wrong with it, on the opposite. It shows the physique of the athletes better.
  • 3 0
 @DavidGuerra: Agree XC seems like it is in an exciting spot.

They also wear what they consider the best clothing for the job, whilst dh wear what marketing folk want the image of dh to be and want to sell. There's honesty in xc
  • 4 0
 @Jameschamberlin How is DH easier to cover/televise? This olympic course proves the opposite.

"Would attract more viewership"; "make the sport look more interesting"... lol nope. The average punter in front of the TV would watch two DH riders as a weird curiosity, then get bored to death and tune out because to anyone who doesn't follow the sport it's just rider after rider doing the exact same thing all over again on their own with no point of reference. No non-mountain bikers would watch it.

Head to head racing is way more exciting for most viewers. It's why in motorsports any top circuit racing series (doesn't even need to be F1) attracts many more viewers than WRC. Hell, speaking from experience, even though I'm really excited about DH WC, even I tend to zone out or sometimes literally fall asleep when guys outside the top 10-20 are on course.

DH is also completely unrelatable to average non-mtb Joes. Part of the reason sports governing bodies push for Olympics inclusion is to promote not just viewership but also participation. Your statistical viewer will see DH and think "yeah nah cool but never doing that". They'll see XC and be in their LBS the next day.
  • 7 0
 Well done Anton Cooper making the kiwis so proud!
  • 6 0
 Awesome ride from Pidcock
  • 2 0
 The guys that are not absolutely tip-top technical riders will get punctures on courses this technical. It happened to Sagan in Rio and it happened to Cink today. I don't think it's a coincidence. Please note that I'm not saying they're bad riders... Clearly not, but a course like today's will break or puncture a wheel if you're not riding perfectly. Gutted for Cinky. Chuffed for Pidders.
  • 4 0
 Crazy to stand up and ride after that, hopefully he's ok, not just adrenaline working
  • 4 0
 adrenaline Frown
  • 6 0
 Go Ninooooooo!!!!
  • 4 1
 Australian commentary was pretty good : )

Man, that was the best XCO race of the season so far. And I don't believe MvDP for a second about not knowing about the drop...
  • 5 0
 Agreed, watching the replay he would have been going way too fast if the platform was there, still would have crashed. I think he just lost focus at the worst time.
  • 6 0
 Brutal course!
  • 9 0
 More of this kind of thing
  • 7 0
 @boozed: Exactly! THIS is mountain biking.
  • 2 0
 great course. saw the preview and i was a bit meh. but watching the actual event it was really good.
  • 1 0
 I've been hanging out for this since that preview in 2019
  • 1 0
 Apparently the link I found to watch had a 30min free trial... that didn't give a timer.

I ran out of time right before the last lap (naturally) Frown .

This was the first time I've ever watched an XC race though. And other than the audio being an absolute mess, it was good enough that I'll probably try to tune in again to a different world cup/etc. Good stuff.
  • 4 0
 World Cups are free on RedBull TV so you'll be able to watch the whole race. Indeed, you can go there now and watch all of this years races to your hearts content.
  • 3 0
 Wow, the course looked ace. What a ride though. He said he would win and he proper went for it and did it. The rock drop looked cool, with a seat up I bet it was interesting.
  • 5 0
 MvdP crashed out
  • 24 4
 MvdP: "I Don't need a dropper post...."
  • 10 8
 @hansvl: In fairness to MvdP, that drop is more like something you'd see on a DH course as opposed to a XC course
  • 12 0
 @njleach: Yes.. its brutal... So are some other XC tracks nowadays. That's why you should adapt bike and skills. The Canyon with a fixed post is kind of old skool.

But to be fair; this was just a one second mistake, that has cost him the race. Weight to much forward on a deep drop (not even that technical for the pros). Nerves; maybe... he was making a few small mistakes earlier in the race.
  • 21 0
 @njleach: Nino just sent that one looooong.
  • 14 0
 I wonder if he knew that they had removed the ladder that stood there in practice. It looked as if he wanted to roll it and realized that there wasn't a ladder. Bad crash.
  • 4 0
 @meniac: Not sure - MvdP definitely wasn't carrying enough speed over the drop. Nino almost cleared all the rocks below on his second lap
  • 2 2
 @hansvl: The position of his dropper post versus his body looks ridiculous on the slow mo of the crash. Also kudos to Pidcock for not getting taken out.
  • 12 0
 @hansvl: Yes, a presenter from Dutch TV said: "Everybody uses a dropper but MvP is so good he does noet need one" Well ...
  • 1 0
 @meniac: according to Bart Brentjes het also trained without de ladder. And he would clear this ladder anyway.
  • 3 1
 @hansvl: No Dropper, no drop
  • 2 1
 @njleach: nah mate. thats real mountain biking at the absolute elite level....no excuses that 'its hard' are allowed.

This is XC in 2021
  • 1 0
 @meniac: Obviously not - but it seems there was a breakdown in communication - as it's rumoured that Vader knew it would be removed....
  • 4 0
 @meniac: Yeah, I don't think MvdP has problems with such drops without dropper, this is the most likely reason why he crashed. With or without dropper he went there with bike in wrong position and would have crashed either way. I can assume it happened because he arrived really late to Tokyo (saturday according to commentators).
  • 5 0
 @meniac: And you can see in video that he drops front expecting to roll, unlike rest of bunch who keep front higher
  • 4 0
 @fu33:

Translation MVDP:
I was not aware, that board was there during the reconnaissance. I only heard that it was removed at the test event.

National coach Gerben de Knegt: "Mathieu said something about thinking the plank was still there.
  • 2 4
 @hansvl: Yep. Once a stubborn roadie, always a stubborn roadie.
  • 1 0
 @tommynator: I saw many riders w/o a dropper
  • 5 0
 Pidcock with a gap now
  • 3 0
 Fantastic race. Can’t wait for the women’s tomorrow. Predictions?
  • 2 0
 Any video of MVP's crash?

Put some respect on Tom Pidcock's name!! Congrats!
  • 4 0
 Just a bunch of stills on YT right now. I'm sure there will be something out later today.
  • 3 0
 He went OTB on the big step down. A move we have seen 100s of times on the friday fails :-)
Question of the day: would a dropper post have saved him the gold medal? Most riders were running one, not VdP.
  • 3 0
 @jamessmurthwaite: He's lucky he didn't get run over to boot.
  • 4 0
 @jamessmurthwaite: Watch the GIF loop a few times and you'll see that MVDPs front wheel landed closer to the drop face than Pidcocks REAR wheel.

Huge rider error, bummer to see a medal contender go out like that.
  • 3 0
 @thedirtyburritto: It really did look like he was trying to roll it down the planking they had up in practice.
What ever it was he came up way short of the intended landing area.
  • 1 0
 @jamessmurthwaite: OMG brutal. Didn't watch the entire race.. honestly have not been following Olympics despite great streaming coverage by CBC, just watched last 15 min of stream now.

MVP obviously knows how to ride a bike and has strong descending skills, wonder wtf happened, brain fart or if he was cracked and just didn't pull up.
  • 4 0
 @gramboh @thedirtyburritto: Apparently there was a plank there in training that allowed you to roll it but it got removed for finals
  • 3 0
 @jamessmurthwaite: yes, MVDP posted a photo of it on his Twitter feed.
  • 1 0
 Is there anyway to watch this in the US without an NBC sports/cable subscription?
  • 4 0
 I'm streaming it here: stream.nbcolympics.com/cycling-mountain-bike-mens

I do have a cable subscription though, so they may "know" that.
  • 3 0
 @MtbSince84: Thanks.. same site I'm currently watching on for my "30 minute trial period", which'll be running out soon SMH
  • 1 0
 @jfleming10: Ah, I had not seen the trial countdown on my screen. Had to log in myself. Hope you find a free stream.
  • 2 0
 with a vpn on bbc iplayer, maybe you can get a free vpn trial :-)
  • 2 0
 @MtbSince84: Is it just me or is the sound balancing totally off on that? I can either not hear the commentators or be deafened by the whistles
  • 3 0
 @n734535: It's a compete mess, like no one has any clue how to operate an audio mixer. I don't know if it's a problem at NBC or with a shared feed from a third party, but someone should fix that.
  • 2 0
 @MtbSince84: Olympic Broadcasting Services S.L. (OBS) is responsible for delivering the pictures and sounds of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It produces and transmits unbiased live radio and television coverage of every sport from every venue. This feed is called the International Signal or the World Feed and is distributed as a service to all broadcast organisations who have purchased the television and radio rights to the Games.

Some broadcasters then commentate using the feed or simple use the OSB commentary.
  • 1 0
 @casey79: OK, sounds like it's OBS, then. It's awful.
  • 1 0
 you can try to watch the Womens race tomorrow on Eurosport or SRF on Zattoo.
  • 2 0
 @jfleming10 Do you have anti-virus software? I think most come with a VPN. I used the VPN included with mine to set my IP address to Canada, and watched the full race live on CBC.
  • 1 0
 @MtbSince84: Oh they know. Also, remove your apple watch when, you know.....
  • 2 0
 any internationally working stream links anybody?
  • 2 0
 I'm watching on 7Plus - not sure if it's available internationally: 7plus.com.au/live-tv?channel-id=TOK31
  • 4 3
 Don't pump a pussyplank that doesn't exist guys. On the bright side, it's only a 3 year wait for the next try
  • 1 0
 They'd have to include DH to get some Americans on that list.
  • 1 0
 Carter Woods should’ve been there for Canada.
  • 2 0
 Gutted for MVP Frown
  • 2 0
 i've seen his post about the ramp being taking out on the rock drop....
  • 1 0
 The moment u realize Rob Warner is the GOAT.
  • 1 0
 Trying to find a stream w/o seeing the results. Wish me luck.
  • 1 0
 Bravo Vlad!
  • 1 0
 Dope
  • 1 2
 Women's been done for hours - why no results on PB?
  • 1 4
 Slowest. Live. Update. Ever.







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