Thomas Pidcock reveals 'suffering' en route to epic comeback cycling gold at Paris 2024 Olympics
The roar of pure emotion as Thomas Pidcock crossed the finish line to win cycling mountain bike gold at Paris 2024 told its own story.
The Brit did this one the hard way, and didn't feel one moment of respite, unlike when he won the same title at Tokyo 2020.
“It's certainly pretty special but it was suffering, suffering,” Pidcock told Olympics.com after his win.
“I enjoy the races where I put the work in and the race is kind of easier. Tokyo was better in that respect - because I was in control. I was not in control here, I was fighting to come back.”
Thomas Pidcock of Team Great Britain.
Thomas Pidcock, the ultimate cycling comeback
Defending an Olympic title is never easy, but Pidcock's task was made much harder when he suffered a puncture on lap four.
Any fan would be forgiven for their hopes of a GB gold being dampened at this point, but that would mean doubting Pidcock, something which the man himself certainly never did.
Despite finding himself almost 40 seconds behind at one point, the Team GB cyclist gritted his teeth and chipped away at his deficit over the next four-and-a-half laps.
The Brit fought through and into first place on the final stretch of the course to spoil the home party in what was simply an heroic display.
“I made two mistakes, I punctured and I fell off the course in the same place,” Pidcock explained.
“It was a battle out there, all I could do was from there recover as best as I could. Of course, my aim was to get back to the front but that was out of my control.”
Pidcock became the first defending champion in the event since 2008, having won at Tokyo 2020 by 20 seconds.
After a few hugs with team members, he tried to call someone on his phone but could not get through - whether he would have been able to say much through the sheer exhaustion and emotion is uncertain.
Every drop of sweat was a reminder of every push, drive and force he had put into even getting back into medal contention, let alone taking the top step on the podium.
“First we think about today, now I'm going to recover”, Pidcock replied when asked whether this will give him a boost on Saturday.
He later said in his press conference, “I will just take time to recover to refresh and then I’ll go from there. I want to go spend time with my family, I get to see them very little.”
Forget the home party for France - this was Pidcock’s party and the perfect early birthday gift.
Pidcock’s early birthday present – but the job is not done
On Monday (29 July), Pidcock became back-to-back Olympic champion, and on Tuesday he will celebrate his 25th birthday.