Mountain biking fans were treated to two electric days of Olympic mountain bike racing at Élancourt Hill outside of Paris. The energy was palpable, especially when the French racers rode by. But on the course and behind the scenes, there were some interesting things that fans might not have caught in the live broadcast.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is never preparing for an Olympic MTB race again
After the World Cup in Nove Mesto, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot announced she would be retiring from mountain biking at the end of the year. In the post-race debrief, the gold medal winner said even if she didn’t win, this was going to be her last Olympic race: “I don’t see myself doing this again—training for Olympics again—it doesn’t make sense for me,” she said.
PFP won gold on a hardtail
While most racers now favour full suspension mountain bikes for the technical sections, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won on the new Pinarello Dogma XC Hardtail, a setup she specifically requested to dial in for her Olympic race. Pidcock, on the other hand, went full squish, hence the recent dual bike launch that included his Pinarello XC.
Haley Batten was fined 500 Swiss francs for a race infraction
In the post-race press conference, someone asked Jenny Rissveds what Puck Pieterse said to her after the race. Rissveds replied: “Um, she was asking if I was going to make a protest against Haley for not taking the bottle.” This was in reference to the fact that in the last lap, Batten did not grab a bottle, as is required according to UCI MTB rules: “Failure to respect the instructions of the race organisation or commissaires (using the pit lane without feeding or heaving technical assistance).” Lucky for Batten the judges deemed it did not merit disqualification. While Rissveds did not put forth a complaint, Puck Pieterse and the Dutch cycling team tried, however the rules state that team rider and team complaints were not permitted. The judges’ decision was final.
Jenny Rissveds alerted Haley Batten’s mechanic about her flat tire
When Batten broke her wheel on one of the “sneaky rocks,” as they entered the tech zone, Rissveds pointed to it so Batten’s mechanic could be at the ready for a quick fix. Social media lit up with posts about Rissveds’ integrity and kindness.
Victor doesn’t think Pidcock’s pass in the woods was sketchy
What made the race so thrilling was the battle between Victor…
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