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
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.
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.
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.
So sad they had no clue?
(We had terrible sections in between of the archery final - NOOOOOOO all by myself)
Up yours BC, you gonna start supporting MTB a bit now!?
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.
Just 1 lap of the Beast at Coed y Brenig , plenty challenging enough for XC @Starch-Anton:
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.
But that’s exactly why they choose them, easier to pick up medals for less popular sports.
Can watch online
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.
Copyright: Cor Vos. www.pinkbike.com/photo/21015989
video twitter.com/Eurosport_NL/status/1419541675794382849
Mathieu van der Poel to the hospital to have his hip checked.
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
Milan Vader: "I told him (at lunch), that they would remove those planks."
Mathieu van der Poel: "No I didn't know anything. Currently in hospital for scans. Too much pain to finish."
Thanks for the links!
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.
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.
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.
Hopefully Pidcock loves XC enough that he will continue throughout his (road) career.
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.
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.
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.
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.
www.rootsandrain.com/rider85644/david-valero-serrano/results
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?
So many questions
www.brujulabike.com/tom-pidcock-suspension-system-new-pictures
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:
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
That’s the reason the olympic committee give.
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).
Pidcock is on fire, crazy to think he almost wasn't allocated a spot
I don't think it's the old "DH is too niche for the IOC" when for example skateboarding has two disciplines there.
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?
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?
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
"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.
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...
I ran out of time right before the last lap (naturally) .
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.
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.
This is XC in 2021
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.
Put some respect on Tom Pidcock's name!! Congrats!
Question of the day: would a dropper post have saved him the gold medal? Most riders were running one, not VdP.
Huge rider error, bummer to see a medal contender go out like that.
What ever it was he came up way short of the intended landing area.
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.
I do have a cable subscription though, so they may "know" that.
Some broadcasters then commentate using the feed or simple use the OSB commentary.