Cross-country by bike - Briton Pidcock cross-country world champion for the first time

In the absence of the two superstars Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, British Olympic mountain bike champion Tom Pidcock took the title at the Cross World Championships for the first time.

The 22-year-old won in Fayetteville/Arkansas ahead of Dutch rider Lars van der Haar and Belgian rider Eli Iserbyt. German champion Marcel Meisen from Stolberg finished in 18th place, 2:07 minutes behind.

On Saturday, Marianne Vos from the Netherlands won the cyclo-cross title for the eighth time. Team-mate Lucinda Brand and Italy's Silvia Persico took second and third place. The German champion Elisabeth Brandau from Schönaich had to settle for twelfth place, 2:35 minutes back.

For seven years, van der Poel and van Aert had shared the title between them. However, after the Dutchman decided not to make the trip to the USA due to back problems and the Belgian van Aert, who is concentrating on the road season, the way was clear for Pidcock on the 3.2 kilometre long and technically undemanding course. The Brit pulled away in the fourth of nine laps and won with a lead of 30 seconds.

Meisen had to let go in the first lap. However, he was not expected to finish among the front runners anyway. Since the 1992 World Championship title and second place a year later by Mike Kluge, Germany has hardly played a role in cross-country cycling anyway.

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