Almost every time Olympic champion Tom Pidcock appears at mountain bike races, he also wins, as he did at the European Cross-Country Championships in Munich. And again he is amazed, saying that he didn't feel so good beforehand.

In fact, the Brit was a little further back at the start due to a crash after the start. But he reappeared at the front halfway through the race and didn't wait long. He soon attacks, tears the field apart and soon shakes off his pursuers, including Swiss rider Filippo Colombo. Behind them, a large chasing group formed, but due to disagreement they were unable to do much against Pidcock. In the meantime, their gap was around 30 seconds.

Olympic champion Tom Pidcock keeps his opponents at bay until the end, and even though his lead shrinks to eleven seconds at the end, he confidently takes the European title. Behind them, things get exciting and at first it seems that the Swiss will take silver and bronze. However, Denmark's Sebastian Fini-Carstensen fought his way in between, with bronze going to Filippo Colombo, just like a year ago. Nevertheless, the other Swiss athletes put in a convincing team performance: Thomas Litscher finished fifth, Lars Forster seventh, Andri Frischknecht eighth and Vital Albin ninth. Joel Roth took an excellent eleventh place at his first European Elite Championships, just behind the German Luca Schwarzbauer.

Results

French double victory in the women's race

In the women's race, Loana Lecomte and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (both FRA) pulled away on the first lap. And they did so so clearly that Alessandra Keller and Olympic champion Jolanda Neff were unable to follow.

But by the end of the second lap, Ferrand-Prévot was already looking for a preliminary decision in the battle for her third potential European title. However, her escape did not last long as her chain jammed on the third lap and Lecomte passed her again and rode away.

At times, Lecomte was more than 50 seconds ahead of her compatriot. The defending champion was able to make up some ground, but not enough to deny Lecomte her first European elite championship title. Behind the French duo, it looks as if Jolanda Neff will take the last remaining medal. However, the calculation has not yet been made, so Dutch rider Anne Terpstra senses her chance and slowly closes the gap to Neff, overtakes her and pulls away slightly.

Although Neff is never far away and is able to maintain the gap, she is no longer able to close the gap to the Dutchwoman. Anne Terpstra took bronze, more than three minutes behind, while Jolanda Neff had to settle for the leather medal. Alessandra Keller and Sina Frei ride to the finish line in sixth and seventh place, while Linda Indergand takes ninth place. Steffi Häberlin secures a place in the top 15.

Results