After the excitement of Tokyo 2020, mountain biking will return to the Olympic schedule for Paris 2024. Men’s and women’s races will be held on Elancourt Hill in Paris, with riders competing for the top prize in sports: an Olympic gold medal.
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Mountain Biking Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
But before any of that can occur, riders must qualify for the tournament, which is no simple undertaking. Find out everything you need to know about the cross-country mountain bike path to Paris 2024 below.
Tom Pidcock, age 21, won the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 men’s mountain biking race on a challenging new course at Izu. It is the first Olympic medal for Great Britain in the sport.
He finished the seven-lap race in 1:25:14, 20 seconds ahead of Mathias Flückiger (SUI) and 34 seconds ahead of David Valero Serrano (ESP). In his fourth Olympic Games, Olympic champion Nino Schurter placed fourth; for the first time in his career, he missed the podium.
“I’ve trained so hard, and I knew I was in terrific shape, but when I don’t perform well in a race, there’s always doubt. But as the race began, I knew I was in a good position,” Pidcock added.
In dry, hot weather, 38 riders, a far smaller field than in UCI World Cups, took the mass start. There were just three riders from Switzerland and Italy, but the field was filled with competitors from all over the world and diverse riding backgrounds.
The 1.2km start loop saw strong activity from Mathieu Van der Poel (NED) on the second row, Tom Pidcock (GBR) from the fourth row, and UCI World Champion Jordan Sarrou (FRA) who led into the Amagi Pass, with its two narrow lanes already forcing several riders to stand.
Milan Vader (NED) led the pack over the bridge and onto the tarmac for the first time, followed by Victor Koretzky (FRA), Flückiger, Anton Cooper (NZL), and Henrique Avancini (BRA), before the Brazilian set the pace for the first of seven full 3.85km laps of the Izu Mountain Bike Course, which Nick Floros brilliantly designed.
Cross Country (XC) is the only sanctioned mountain bike category at the Olympics. This endurance-oriented event is a mass-start competition that normally has 100-150 riders competing on dirt fire roads and rocky, root-filled single track.
Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) Mountain Biking will be held at the Izu Mountain Bike Course in Izu City, Shizuoka. Multiple laps will be run on the 4,1 km course, including a 1,3 km start loop. The duration of the competition will range between 80 and 100 minutes.
Last Words
USA Cycling has had historical success with this event, particularly the women’s race. Georgia Gould won the bronze medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Thanks for reading our article Mountain Biking Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
