A day after saying he might not have ridden his mountain bike enough, Tom Pidcock rolled into second in the XCC World Cup in Nove Mesto.
The Olympic champ admitted after the finish line he’d also miscalculated tactically, waiting too long to move up to the front of the race. The Brit still finished second, but that’s rarely the result Pidcock is looking for.
“I knew when [Azzaro] was straight on my wheel. It’s hard coming back to mountain bike from some time away. I feel like I’ve no idea what I’m doing when I come back, so it’s just nice to get that first race out the way, know that I’ve still got the legs. It’s always a doubt when I come back.”
There’s still one more day of racing. And, for the XCO, Pidcock is very clear what result he expects from himself.
“I’m here to try and win, I’ve done it every other time. I’m here so need to keep that streak going.”
For Azzaro, its a thrilling win.
“Unreal, I felt the whole day I had the legs, but I was super nervous. You have to stay on the bike. That was the position I wanted in the finish,” Azzaro said.
The French racer was up front knows the chance to beat a rider like Pidcock is rare, and was taking time to appreciate his accomplishment.
“I knew that Tom [Pidcock] was coming from the back, I just waited, he came the last lap like a Formula 1 car, and I just jumped into the wheel. It’s a name that everyone knows and I’m super proud to beat him, it’s great to race with a champion like this.”
Pieterse hits Nove Mesto in stride
On the women’s side, Puck Pieterse had no problem stepping back in and taking control of the race. The Dutch racer was happy to be back on dirt after a road spent on the tarmac, and cobbles, around Europe.
“I’ve missed it,” Pieterse said. “Here it always gets quite bunchy on the road and slows down a bit, however this year Jenny [Rissveds] was setting such a high pace that it took me a bit to get to the front. When I was there, I just decided to stay there, and tried to keep in control for the final sprint.
Control is hard in Nove Mesto, especially when there’s
“I saw Nicole [Koller] coming from the left and she was starting to step on the pedals. I thought ‘now I have to kick’, so I did. It’s super cool, flashbacks to last year’s Short Track here. The goal for tomorrow is just to keep the material [equipment] good and see from there how a one and a…
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