Two Brazilians competed in the proof of Mountain Tokyo Olympic Games Bike on this second (26), in Izu. Henrique Avancini (13th) and Luiz Henrique Cocuzzi (27th) were far from the podium, but Avancini won the best result in Brazil in the history of the race. Thomas Pidcock-GBR (gold), Mathias Flueckiger-SUI (silver) and David Valero Serrano-ESP (bronze) were the medalists.
At the very beginning of the race, but unable to keep pace, Avancini stayed away from the medal fight. Cocuzzi walked in the back of the platoon the entire time. There were seven laps in a circuit of 3.85km in length, totaling 28.25km cycled, between ups and downs. The race was held in the city of Izu, just over 100km away from Tokyo.
Avancini already had the best result in Brazil in the MTB in the Olympics, with the 23rd place in Rio-2016.
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Henrique started very strong and led the field after the first lap. Mathieu Van der Poel, Dutch and one of the main athletes of the competition, fell early on and was left behind in the peloton.
Swiss Mathias Flueckiger and Nino Schurter followed closely behind Avancini at the end of the first lap and, at the beginning of the second, they passed the Brazilian. Henrique remained in third place and did not stray from the two opponents, but he did not avoid the fatigue for a stronger start. He was overtaken by Anton Cooper (NZL), Victor Koretzky (FRA) and Thomas Pidcock (GBR), but continued strong in the same tune as the leaders, closing the second lap in sixth place. The Brit even took second place while Flueckiger led the pack in first place.
Towards the middle of the race, Pidcock took the lead and opened up a bit of the competition. At this time, Avancini occupied the seventh place and Luiz Henrique Cocuzzi appeared in the position of number 30.
At the end of the fourth round of the circuit, Avancini dropped one more position, finishing in eighth and Cocuzzi followed in 30th. The first three were Pidcock, Flueckiger and Schurter. During the fifth lap, Avancini felt the rhythm even more and appeared only in 12th place while Cocuzzi was 33rd. The fight for the medal was between the British Pidcock and the Swiss Flueckiger.
When he opened the last lap, Thomas Pidcok had no more opponents on his heels. Flueckiger was 14 seconds behind and the most exciting part of the race was the fight for third place, which had four competitors. In the end, leader and vice-leader confirmed their positions and David Valero Serrano confirmed the bronze medal. Henrique Avancini completed the race in 13th and Luiz Henrique Cocuzzi finished in 27th position.
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