Tom Pidcock manages top-five finish at MTB World Cup after overtaking 70 riders and suffering puncture

After Tom Pidcock won his first mountain bike race back by more than three minutes, his second involved managing a top-five finish after overtaking 70 riders and suffering a slow puncture.

At the mountain bike world cup round in Albstadt, Germany, Pidcock finished fifth despite starting back in the 11th row, overtaking most of the field to finish only 29 seconds down on winner Victor Koretzky. Nino Schurter finished runner-up, two seconds behind, while Mathieu van der Poel came seventh.

"I was certainly happy with how today went," Pidcock said in the flash interview after the race. "It was a hard day out there, very hot. I think a lot of guys booted themselves in the first lap, myself included."

Pidcock explained he had to battle with his equipment as he also tried to overcome his poor starting position.

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"And then I tried to start settling in and I had a slow puncture, and after a lap I decided to stop, change the wheel, just thought I'd pump it up and see if it holds but it was rolling the whole last lap. I was just trying to not let it go completely flat and get to the finish," Pidcock explained.

"Mentally it's easy [coming from so far back] because if you're always passing people it makes you feel good. I think once I got to the front and I couldn't just keep going in the heat. It's been cold all week and now it's suddenly hot so no-one has acclimatised to it, which makes it a tough day.

"I think I should be starting short track now so I can hopefully aim to get a front row start for the short track and I'll be in a much better position not having to overtake 70-odd riders."

The 21-year-old will next race this coming weekend at Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic, before Leogang in Austria in mid-June.

After that, Pidcock is hoping to qualify for the Olympic cross country event on July 26.