Ladies first

The Olympic mountain bike competitions begin with the women's cross-country race. 

• It was striking that a fast course is no guarantee for exciting races. Large gaps quickly opened up between the riders, and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot topped this with her lead of over three minutes at times.
• A fast and supposedly easy course carries just as much risk of defects and crashes as a slow and demanding circuit: Loana Lecomte felt this keenly when she crashed quite hard in the Rockgarden and had to abandon the race. Fortunately, she did not suffer any serious injuries apart from a slight concussion and a few scratches. She was back among the spectators in the men's race. In addition to crashes, the course also claimed numerous flat feet. The most prominent "victims" were Haley Batten, Alessandra Keller and Tom Pidcock. Other riders even broke entire wheels.
• Speaking of defects: you can't actually lose the battery of a Sram changer, and certainly not if it is also secured with adhesive tape. It happened to Sina Frei at the Olympic Games of all places. A small crash at the start and a rider touching the rear derailleur were enough for the battery to come loose and take away Frei's chances of representing Jolanda Neff with dignity.
• The best part of this almost boring race was the battle for second place. Haley Batten and Jenny Rissveds gave it to each other really hard on the final laps and provided the only fierce duel in the race.
• Batten had the better end and it didn't change the fact that the US American rattled through the tech zone in the final without accepting help - actually a breach of the rules. She didn't gain any real advantage from it, and she probably didn't choose this line on purpose in the race rush and with her pulse on the roof, so never mind.
• In addition to the bronze medal, Jenny Rissveds should also be awarded the fairness prize: The Swede informed the US mechanics in the tech zone that Haley Batten was coming in with a flat tire, so the guys were actually ready with spare wheels. Then in the final, as Batten rode through the feed and tech zone without accepting help, Rissveds duly grabbed a water bottle. And last but not least, she gave Pauline Ferrand-Prevot moral support shortly before the podium ceremony when she was still struggling to come to terms with her emotions about her victory.
• Speaking of emotions: I often found it annoying that Ms. Ferrand-Prevot showed no emotion in practically any race this season, barely cracking a smile. She almost gave the impression that winning is rather annoying. A different Pauline showed herself in Paris. She rode like a robot until the last 50 meters, but then the pent-up emotions kicked in. She was howling with joy and relief. Really beautiful, and I almost cried with her.

A super race with a bland aftertaste

The men's race provided the highest level of excitement and fun, and it ended with undifferentiated TV commentary and bad losers.

• Send it boys! Despite a very high pace, the riders didn't miss the opportunity to style off over the jumps at the start. There were tabletops and whips from the world's best mountain bikers and even a toboggan from Charlie Aldridge. This is when the rider leans backwards during airtime, grabs the saddle with one hand and turns the handlebars. Awesome, and that in cross country!
• Tom Pidcock had a puncture, had to change his bike and it took too long because the mechanics weren't ready. That's embarrassing and could have been race-deciding - ok, it wasn't. Nevertheless, in Formula 1 these guys would have lost their jobs.
• Nino Schurter probably imagined his last Olympic Games differently. In my opinion, he was well prepared and seemed very relaxed. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition in the race. Schurter couldn't keep up at the front and made a riding mistake that would never happen to him otherwise. And yet, not giving up under these circumstances and still finishing ninth on what was perhaps his worst day in years - chapeau Nino!
• The final of the men's race will definitely go down as one of the best in mountain bike history - including the World Cup. The way Tom Pidcock and Victor Koretzky battled it out was great cinema!
• However, the reactions to the final, or more precisely to Pidcock's overtaking maneuver, leave a bitter aftertaste. However, the latter simply took advantage of the gap that Koretzky had opened up for him and did not hinder him in any way. The near-collision between the two is therefore not Pidcock's fault, but Koretzky's. In the heat of the moment, he wanted to close the gap frantically, but the Briton already had the wheel in front of the Frenchman. With this hard swerve against Pidcock, Koretzky caused himself to stagger and thus lost his last chance for gold. Too bad, because that would have been a legendary sprint decision. I would also like to point out that every great racer has at least once used such a gap extremely narrowly in his favor, but in return also came away with a victory - hard, close but fair!
• I was annoyed that this race situation was not viewed objectively by the SRF commentators. Even if Pidcock doesn't go down well with everyone, his maneuver was correct! But I was more disturbed, or rather disappointed, by the reactions of the French fans who booed Pidcock as he crossed the finish line. I understand the disappointment, and from a personal point of view I would have preferred Koretzky to win, but that is simply an unsportsmanlike reaction and not worthy of a host!

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