Shortly before 4.30pm Paris time, as the last notes of God Save the King were dying away, a mechanic called Rune Kristensen was wheeling the most prized artefact in British cycling back to its truck.
The Pinarello bike ridden by Tom Pidcock to Olympic gold was still coated in a fine layer of warm dust, the No 1 mounted on its front, its gears still on the same setting. On the stem, in red, white and blue, was emblazoned Pidcock's personal motto: "Play your cards right."
This is a sport where the odds can swivel in an instant, where nothing is ever won and so no cause is ever truly lost. Pidcock, a rider who has made a career out of doing the undoable, knows that better than most. Here he was dealt the most unpromising of hands, and against a hostile home crowd and a flat tyre, he cleaned out the house.
It was a ride of pure, thrilling instinct: a welcome reminder that in the chaos of competitive cross-country biking, sometimes the best plan is no plan at all.
And Pidcock, who has won on the snow-flecked peaks of Alpe d'Huez and the dandruff-white roads of Strade Bianche and now the verdant woodland of Paris, is in many ways a cyclist of the romantic imagination, of a time before strategies and specialisation and four-year plans, when the essence of the sport was simply to get on your bike and thrash it.
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin July 30, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin July 30, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
First mass 24-hour event to help people put down their phones
Haunted by a pile of unread books? Or taunted by outdoor kit lurking in the cupboard? If you are one of the British adults who spends on average five hours a day looking at screens rather than participating in pastimes, perhaps it's time to join the offline revolution.
No longer the king of bling The staggering fall of rap star Sean 'Diddy' Combs
Brooklyn's grim Metropolitan Detention Center is, for the foreseeable future, home to Puff Daddy, AKA Sean Combs, one of the best-known voices in American entertainment and whose business empire once seemed to know no bounds.
Brandenburg stakes Last-minute push by German far right in key regional election
B jörn Höcke shielded his eyes from the lights as he peered from the stage into the crowds gathered on a square in front of a gothic church in central Cottbus.
'It's guerrilla war' The fire teams facing arson chaos in Amazon
The occupants of the military tents at this remote jungle camp in Brazil's wild west T survey the hellscape surrounding them.
"The horror of it' Trial of husband and 50 men accused of wife's rape shakes France
On the narrow streets of stone houses with pastel-blue shutters, residents of Mazan were appalled that this picturesque village in Provence was being referred to in the media as \"the village of the rapists\".
West End revival Will a traffic ban lure shoppers back to Oxford Street?
From the rooftop of John Lewis's flagship store, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, laid out the changes planned for Oxford Street below: \"We want a public realm that is world class, green, healthy and safe but also increases footfall in the shops.\"
Live and let fly James Bond chopper firm awaits decision on £1bn deal
The Merlin helicopter sitting on a factory floor in Yeovil is a sight familiar to James Bond aficionados from the climactic shootout of the 2012 film Skyfall.
Mental illness is Britons' biggest health concern, survey finds
Mental health has overtaken cancer and obesity as the health issue that is the biggest cause of concern for most Britons, a global survey reveals.
Noise, crime, crowds Rise in tourism stokes tensions in bustling Lake District town
Even on a weekday afternoon at the very tail end of summer, Bowness-onWindermere is bustling with life. Outside the town's pubs and bars, drinkers sip lager and sparkling wine in the warm September sun.
EU's new proposals on youth mobility will put Starmer 'reset' to test
Fresh proposals to allow young people to move between Britain and the EU will be presented to the British government within weeks, in what is seen as a significant early test of Labour's \"reset\" in relations with Brussels.
