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“Unfortunately I never found the right flow... It is painful" - Legendary Nino Schurter ends Olympic mountain bike career with a whimper in Paris
Mountain BikeMonday, 29 July 2024 at 23:30
Nino Schurter's legendary status in the sport of mountain bike is assured but in the 38-year-old Swiss' Olympic Games swansong, the 2016 gold medallist was sadly unable to compete for the medals once again.
“I had the feeling, at least beforehand, that anything was possible today. But of course I had imagined a different outcome of my last Olympic Games,” reflected an emotional Schurter, who had carried the flag for Switzerland in the opening ceremony, in his post-race interview with 20min.ch. after finishing in 9th over two minutes down on the eventual winner of the gold medal, Great Britain's Tom Pidcock.
“Unfortunately I never found the right flow," continues the 10-time mountain bike world champion, revealing he actually started the Paris Olympic Games with the extra incentive of showcasing his talents in front of his daughter. "It was only the first time that my daughter Lisa Sophie went to the Olympic Games. I would have liked to show her something completely different. It is painful, but nevertheless I am incredibly grateful for what I have been able to experience at the Games over the years.”
As mentioned, in the end it was Tom Pidcock who took gold for the second Olympic Games in a row, seeing off the challenge of home crowd favourite Victor Koretzky in a thrilling race. Having led early on, the Brit was victim of a puncture and slow tyre change, leaving him way down the pack and around 40 seconds behind the front of the race.
Slowly but surely working his way back up through the pack, picking off rider after rider, Pidcock entered the final lap locked with Koretzky and South Africa's Alan Hatherly. On the early part of the final lap, the was a momentary lull as the trio each were waiting for the next big move to come. Pidcock was the first who made a testing attack but couldn't snap the elastic to Koretzky. When Koretzky countered however, powered on by the support of the home crowd, the Frenchman powered ahead, gapping Pidcock. The momentum continued to swing though as Pidcock reclaimed the lead on the descent, only for Koretzky to move back in front himself again. Through the woods, Pidcock came up the inside and the duo came into contact, almost bringing both the ground. It was the Brit who came out of the incident the better though sealing the win.
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