Great Britain were kings of the ice as they clinched an unprecedented four medals on day one of the Cyclocross World Championships.
Great Britain’s junior men stole the show with a superb 1-2-3 as Thomas Pidcock clinched his first rainbow jersey in Luxembourg.
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The 17-year-old from Leeds held his nerve on the difficult course and despite having a mechanical following a crash, he maintained his composure to build up a lead allowing him to enjoy the moment.
Behind, a remarkable race full of incident unfolded as fellow British riders Daniel Tulett and Ben Turner battled it out for silver and bronze.
Tulett rode from mid-field up to the front, riding back up to Turner before a slip from his rival gave him the gap for silver.
“There was a lot of pressure in the last three weeks and it’s been hard to deal with it,” said Pidcock.
“In the last few days the pressure died away and we just enjoyed ourselves and racing our bikes.
“It’s a great relief to win as I was dreading ending up at the bottom of a massive pile of bikes or having a massive crash. I’m very proud.”
2017 UCI Cyclocross World Championships - 28 Jan 2017
Britain had to wait just two hours for their next medal as Evie Richards clinched bronze in the under-23 women’s race following a valiant battle to retain her rainbow stripes.
The steep climbs of Bieles didn’t favour for the 19-year-old from Malvern and she was gapped from the leading pair with two laps to go.
Dutch mountain bike rider Annemarie Worst took the title breaking clear of American rider Ellen Noble on the final tricky section.
“I think I’m a lot better as the underdog and there has been a lot of pressure on me which has made me scared,” said Richards. “I’m delighted with a medal.”
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Sanne Cant gave Belgium the win her country desired by sprinting clear of favourite Marianne Vos to clinch the rainbow stripes in the senior women.
After a cagey opening Vos broke clear of the lead group and was chased down by Cant resulting in a tactical race.
A slip by Cant gave her Dutch rival what looked to be an unassailable margin going into the last lap until a mechanical lost her the margin.
Coming into the final straight the two went head-to-head and Cant clinched her first ever world title.
Behind Czech Republic rider Katerina Nash got the better of Lucinda Brand in a sprint for bronze.
Results:
Junior Men:
1. Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) 41.24
2. Daniel Tulett (Great Britain) at 38sec
3. Ben Turner (Great Britain) at 44sec
Under-23 Women:
1. Annemarie Worst (Netherlands) 43.47
2. Ellen Noble (USA) at 10sec
3. Evie Richards (Great Britain) at 26sec
Elite Women:
1. Sanne Cant (Belgium) 43.06
2. Marianne Vos (Netherlands) at 1sec
3. Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) at 21sec
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