Schurter takes men’s mountain biking gold in Rio
Swiss rider turns tables on Kulhavy
Five time and current world champion Nino Schurter of Switzerland took Olympic Games revenge on Czech Jaroslav Kulhavy, seizing the mountain bike gold denied him four years ago in London.
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#SUI Nino Schurter #Gold #Mountainbike #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/YXc0uWaqsT
— Canadian Cycling Mag (@CanadianCycling) August 21, 2016
The men had seven laps of the course the women’s rolled Saturday. The 4.8-km loop was considerably wetter for the men on Sunday.
Here is the #Olympics #CyclingMountainBike course, seven laps of 4.85km. It's a man made course. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/tsxUrR18oJ
— Canadian Cycling Mag (@CanadianCycling) August 21, 2016
Peter Sagan (Slovakia) was the story of Lap 1 as he roared from last place at the start to fourth. Sagan was part of a strong quintet to lead during the first lap, but a flat took him out of contention. Another member of that group, Frenchman Victor Koretzky, was also snakebitten by a flat.
It was Schurter lead and then left his breakmates. Reigning Olympic champion Jaroslav Kulhavy, who nipped Schurter for gold in London, joined the Swiss rider and the two pulled away from the others.
The slick conditions caused many falls. Canadian Léandre Bouchard had a different kind of problem: a Russian rider pulled over in a terrible spot in the pits making Bouchard crash spectacularly.
#CAN Bouchard's crash in the tech zone https://t.co/wxJEa4sp3O
— Canadian Cycling Mag (@CanadianCycling) August 21, 2016
In the middle laps Schurter and Kulhavy continued to lead, with Spaniard Carlos Coloma at first the only bronze-positioned rider before Frenchman Maxime Marotte tagged onto him.
After his fabulous start, Sagan found the rest of the race frustrating.
Sagan #SVK finds out the hard way that cycling isn't all fun and games #CyclingMountainBike https://t.co/6An83TlpI4 pic.twitter.com/njWoMx0MGB
— Canadian Cycling Mag (@CanadianCycling) August 21, 2016
On Lap 6 Schurter finally gapped the Czech and Kulhavy wasn’t able to come back, the gap 44-seconds with half a lap to go. Canadian Raphael Gagne was pulled from the course at the end of Lap 6.
#CAN Raphaël Gagné day appears to be done, no luck for the native of Quebec City #CyclingMountainBike #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/RricUPPzEs
— Canadian Cycling Mag (@CanadianCycling) August 21, 2016
The hot contest became the one for bronze. Coloma couldn’t shake Marotte on the final lap until the final kilometre. The mustachioed Spaniard was entertaining through the entire race.
Schurter, bronze medalist in Beijing and silver winner in London, gave Switzerland five men’s mountain bike medals from six Olympic Games with the knobby tire races. Barbara Blatter is Switzerland’s sole women’s Olympic mountain bike medalist in Sydney 2000.
Bouchard came in 27th on the day.
2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games Men’s Mountain Bike
Gold: Nino Schurter (Switzerland) 1:33:28
Silver: Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czech Republic) +0:50
Bronze: Carlos Coloma (Spain) +1:23
27) Léandre Bouchard (Canada) +9:15
