Tom Pidcock signs a great performance to be crowned in the XCO World Cup in Nove Mesto

Tom Pidcock takes the victory in the XCO World Cup in Nove Mesto. The British rider launched a devastating attack that blew the race apart, only finding a response from Schurter who put on an outstanding performance. The battle for third place ultimately fell to Guerrini.

 

Tom Pidcock and Nino Schurter put on a show at the XCO World Cup in Nove Mesto

The race started at the Nove Mesto temple with an incident that caused several riders at the back of the pack to fall. The favorites, unaware of the incident's consequences, passed the first meters without issues, and Schwarzbauer hammered the pedals to take the lead. The German's classic move had less continuity than usual, and Colombo quickly took over the lead. Litscher, Koretzky, Hatherly, and company followed in the long line behind the Swiss rider.

Schurter appeared to replace his teammate at the front of the race. The pace remained high, causing the group to stretch out and the first gaps to appear.

Hatherly took the lead for a few minutes. The front advanced without hostilities, although some riders were attaching and detaching from the South African's group. Schurter stayed close behind Hatherly, almost blending in with the leader at times, while Koretzky, Colombo, and Gaze rode just behind.

Pidcock emerged from the background where he had spent the early stages of the race, moving up positions and leading the attempts to catch up with the front group. Fluckiger, Schwarzbauer, and Holmgren joined the British rider's wheel.

The race entered a kind of temporary truce where all the main contenders for victory agreed. A problem with the saddle forced Andreassen - the recent winner of the European Championship - to go through the assistance area, ruining his chances of repeating the victory he achieved in the Araxa World Cup.

And then Pidcock blew up the race. The British rider violently pushed the pedals in a brutal attack that revealed his true intentions. The deck was shuffled in a gigantic effort that only Schurter and Koretzky were able to respond to. Pidcock sustained the attack for a long time and eventually dropped Koreztky.

 

Pidcock and Schurter joined forces in a dream pair. They maintained the overwhelming pace that left them alone; the others, powerless against the duo's crazy proposal, kept losing seconds constantly. The British rider was always ahead and raised the stakes even higher until Schurter's quadriceps gave in. Pidcock pulled away and escaped on his own.

However, in a display of determination, Schurter fought back against Pidcock's dominance. The power meter kept working at enough revolutions to slow down the time gap. Despite the Swiss rider's efforts, Pidcock's superiority prevailed, and the gap increased to 25 seconds.

Pidcock and Schurter's efforts, with the latter stubbornly pushing on, continued until the end. The last lap arrived with signs of fatigue and some doubts from Pidcock, who lost some time to Schurter. Nevertheless, the British rider extended his lead with another surge in the final stretch.

Pidcock rode solo and without any surprises to the finish line to secure the victory in the XCO World Cup in Nove Mesto. This marks his fourth triumph in the Czech stronghold and serves as a warning ahead of the Paris Olympics. Nino Schurter completed a sensational performance to finish second and receive the cheers of the fans. Guerrini was third, Aldridge fourth, and Azzaro fifth.

XCO World Cup Results Nove Mesto 2024 - Men

1. Tom Pidcock 1h 21' 41"
2. Nino Schurter +32"
3. Marcel Guerrini +44"
4. Charlie Aldridge +46"
5. Mathis Azzaro +46"
6. Mathias Fluckiger +59"
7. Luca Schwarzbauer +1'04"
8. Gunnar Holgrem +1'13"
9. Alan Hatherly +1'15"
10. Lars Forster +1'29"