AFTER a tough battle with two Guernsey riders in Tuesday’s criterium, Rhys Hidrio put in another fine performance to claim his second and third golds of the Games.
The Jerseyman was one of the favourites going into the mountain bike cross-country and he lived up to the billing to cross the line ahead of James Roe and Bradley Vaudin – just as he had two days earlier.
Hidrio’s race-winning turn also led the way for Team Jersey to claim team gold – again pushing Guernsey into second place.
He crossed the line in a time of 1:22:00, having torn ahead with about 20 minutes to go.
‘I didn’t feel too much like myself on Tuesday – a lot of nerves, a lot of adrenaline was making me feel a bit off,’ Hidrio, who competes in the national championships later this month, said.
‘Today, I felt a lot more myself – I felt like I could keep going for another ten, 15 minutes at that kind of pace. I was feeling really good.
‘I made a break for it to make sure James wasn’t on my wheel through the race, kept my pace and rode it for myself.
‘I could ride the corners at my pace, recover where I wanted to and it feels a lot nicer to ride at that pace without that pressure.’
Jersey’s team gold was also buoyed by a stellar performance from Charlie Hart, who celebrated his 18th birthday on Monday. Hart finished in a time of 1:26:24 to finish fifth with the top two places counting towards the team total.
Jersey and Guernsey finished level on points – but Jersey took gold by virtue of Hidrio being the highest-placed rider.
Hart said: ‘I didn’t get too good a start but in the first lap I made my way through the pack. This week has been so much bigger than I expected. It is amazing.’
In the women’s race, Menorca’s pro Nuria Bosch Pico was a dominant figure, just as she was in Tuesday’s criterium, winning by 34 seconds from Western Isles Kerry McPhee in the individual.
Jersey’s Emily Bridson was delighted to take bronze, leaving the Isle of Man’s Kirree Quayle, who had pipped her to that spot in the criterium in fourth.
The race got off to a cautious start with the pack together for the first half of the opening lap, the riders following the wheels waiting for a move.
That came from Bosch Pico and the gap was quickly established.
Bridson tried to follow but it soon turned into a race of managing the effort and the gaps around her.
‘There’s nowhere to hide from the wind or the heat,’ she said. ‘So you’ve got to be smart with your effort and take on enough water. It was really great to have my team manager and team help in the pits with water for over the head and to take on which was definitely needed today.’
She was ecstatic crossing the line.
‘Words don’t even explain it. To fly the Jersey flag and bring that podium to the women’s race after we had that amazing gold from Rhys [Hidrio in the criterium], the team silver on Tuesday. I’m super proud to be honest.’
