Tom Pidcock suffers hard to beat Dubau in Mountain Bike World Cup opener

First round of the Mountain Bike World Cup in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic) with victory for Tom Pidock (INEOS Grenadiers).

The race was very fast from the start despite the rain that marked the track and the race from the beginning. German rider Schwarzbauer came out very strong in the first few laps, but was eventually overtaken by world champion Nino Schurter.

However, the race's coup de grace was delivered by Tom Pidcock on the third lap when he took the lead with a beastly pace that only Frenchman Joshua Dubau was able to hold off for some time.

On the fifth lap, Tom Pidcock fell and the Gaul took a 12-second gap that he maintained without problems for a lap. The Briton, once he recovered from the scare, began to pull very strong and in the passage through the finish by the penultimate lap (7/8) caught him. 

With Dubau pulling hard at the front, Pidcock held on and the two rode together on the final lap. On each climb the Frenchman would pull away a few meters and Pidcock had to keep his head down and give his all to make sure he didn't get away.

Very clever, Pidcock overtook the Gaul before the decisive climb and faced it in the lead, taking a few meters in the roots that made him secure the victory. Victory for Pidcock after a tremendous race.