British athlete booed as he wins gold medal after incredible comeback with flat tyre
British cyclist Tom Pidcock won Team GB's second gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics after he claimed the win in mountain biking.
However, as the cyclist crossed the line to win the event for the second Olympic Games in a row, there were some boos ringing out for him.
Pidcock came close to disaster when he suffered a puncture on the fourth of eight laps of a race he'd been in control of, with him falling 40 seconds behind France's leading cyclist Victor Koretzky.
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The Brit pedalled like his life depended on it to make up the time he'd lost and in a stunning comeback managed to regain the lead he'd lost.
In the last stretch, Pidcock and Koretzky came close to each other and as the Brit made his move to overtake, it looked as though the wheels on their bikes touched.
The Olympic crowd, many of them French owning to the games being held in Paris, had been ecstatic at Koretzky taking the lead and some of them booed Pidcock as he sped across the finish line to claim his gold.
The British cyclist had dropped to ninth place thanks to the puncture, but had suffered the problem near the pits and could get a repair to get back out there.
After the race an emotional Pidcock told the BBC: "He left a gap and I had to go for it, that's racing.
"Some people might view it differently. I want to show what sport is, not giving up.
"It's a shame the French were booing me, but you know."
The cyclist said it was 'super nice' that his family were able to see him compete this time after he'd previously won the gold in Tokyo.
Olympic fans said it had been 'one of the most amazing comebacks' they'd ever seen in cycling and were mightily impressed with what Pidcock had managed to do.
However, viewers were less than impressed at the boos he got from the crowd, with people saying it was 'not fair' and 'very uncommon in cycling events' to hear that sort of thing.
How on EARTH 🤯
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 29, 2024
Tom Pidcock punctured his tyre. He slipped to ninth. He's somehow won a gold medal for Team GB 🙌 Beast.#Paris2024 #Olympics #BBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/5oHHn95eAa
Others said the jeers were 'really not in tune with the Olympic spirit' given that Pidcock had shown 'remarkable skill and determination' to come back from a puncture that dropped him to ninth place.
Fans thought it was 'incredibly poor' and not cool' for the booing to go on, but Pidcock has picked up his second consecutive gold medal in this event at the Olympics and Team GB's second gold of Paris 2024.
Team GB's current medal count - 8
Gold medallists
- Rosalind Canter, Laura Collett, Tom McEwen: Equestrian - Eventing team
- Tom Pidcock: Mountain Bike - Men's cross country
Silver medallists
- Anna Henderson: Cycling - Women's individual time trial
- Adam Peaty: Swimming - Men's 100m breaststroke
- Tom Daley and Noah Williams: Diving - Men's synchronised 10m platform
Bronze medallists
- Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen: Diving - Women's synchronised 3m springboard
- Kimberley Woods: Canoe - Women's slalom
- Laura Collett: Equestrian - Individual eventing
Joe Harker