OTLEY'S Tom Pidcock stormed to gold with a dominant ride in the men's mountain bike race in Izu at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 21-year-old Yorkshireman started on the fourth row of the race but quickly got himself into the leading group and powered his way past the Swiss pair of Mathias Flueckiger and Nino Schurter to take control on the fourth of seven laps.
Flueckiger was the only man who could even remotely keep up as Pidcock kept the power down to win by 20 seconds, having time to snatch a Union Flag and hold it aloft as he crossed the line.
Pidcock adds the Olympic mountain bike title to his already long and diverse list of accolades, having won world titles in cyclo-cross, road and mountain bike events at under-23 level.
This is Britain's first Olympic mountain biking medal of any colour.
David Valero Serrano won the battle for bronze, 34 seconds down, the distance to the chasing pack underlining Pidcock's dominance on the day.
Mathieu van der Poel, another of the pre-race favourites, pulled out after the fifth lap having crashed heavily early in the race.
Pidcock is from Leeds but previously was a Paul Milnes team member, whose shop and business is based in Bradford.
Three years ago, he opened a new purpose-built cycling track at Horton Park Primary School on the Canterbury estate, just one element of their new £100,000 outdoor play area.
Pidcock was World Junior Cyclocross Champion at the time.
Two years ago, as a member of Otley Cycling Club, he broke the course record on their 'Triangle' time trial route, at the age of just 18.
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