TOM PIDCOCK was booed by the French crowd after claiming gold in the Paris 2024 mountain bike event.
The Team GB star, 24, successfully defended his title from Tokyo with a dramatic ride.
Things had looked bleak for the Leeds-born star when he slipped to ninth after suffering a puncture.
But he produced a genius display to recover, storming through the field to claim a dramatic gold.
Pidcock pipped Frenchman Victor Koretzky to win, with the home hopeful having to settle for silver despite having led by 40 seconds at the halfway stage.
The Brit conjured a daring move to overtake Koretzky, with the pair almost colliding as Pidcock moved into the first place.
Not impressed with the risky move made against their man, many in the Parisian crowd booed Pidcock.
Speaking to the BBC‘s Hazel Irvine after his triumph, Pidcock broke down in tears while referencing the boo boys.
The emotional star choked up as he said: “It wasn’t easy. I’m keeping my glasses on for a reason!
“The Olympics is so special. You never give up, in everything, and that’s what I had to do.
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By Rob Maul
IT WAS a bland course but not a bland race
That was one of the greatest, most exciting race wins for a British star in Olympic history.
In boiling heat, Pidcock edged out Victor Koretzky on the final metres.
The way he went for the race line as they went opposite sides of a tree was something F1 rider Max Verstappen would have been proud of.
They collided and he was booed by the French fans as their man settled for silver.
If we are making comparisons to F1 then the pitstop midway through was not very good.
The mechanics were a bit slow to deal with Pidcock’s front-wheel puncture but the Leeds cyclist showed his true Yorkshire grit on the gravel.
“I knew that Victor was going to be super fast in the last lap, even if I couldn’t get rid of him. So I knew it was going to be a big, big fight.”
On his daring overtake, Pidcock added: “He left a gap, so I had to go for it. That’s racing, some people might view it differently.
“I wanted to show what sport is, not giving up. It’s a shame the French were booing me, but you know…”
Pidcock has had a difficult build-up to the Olympic Games.
Earlier this month he was forced to pull out of the Tour de France after testing positive for Covid-19.
On the experience, he added: “I can’t thank everyone enough.
“Coming out of the Tour with Covid, everyone around me, we just trained perfectly for this.”
