Tom Pidcock and Evie Richards both secure bronze for Great Britain at UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland

Tom Pidcock came third in the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in the Cross-country Short Track mountain bike event.

The race in Scotland was won by New Zealand’s Sam Gaze in a time of 20:27, beating France’s Victor Koretzky into silver by a fraction of a second.

The 27-year-old Gaze rides for Alpecin-Deceuninck on the road and is a 2017 Mountain Bike World Champion. He is also the current World Marathon champion in the discipline, and remains in excellent form.

Pidcock finished two seconds behind Gaze, after he had lurked outside the medal spots for most of the race on Thursday evening at Glentress Forest.

There was late controversy with Luca Schwarzbauer crashing out as Pidcock attacked him down the inside, with the German furious with his rival as a result.

The Yorkshireman is known for his ability to compete across the disciplines on a bike, and he added to his resume that includes an Olympic gold medal won at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and he is the current cyclo-cross world champion.

Last year he also claimed victory in road races at the 2022 Tour de France on Stage 12, and also one-day events Brabantse Pijl and Strade Bianche.

The World Championships are a chance for Pidcock to test himself on a mountain bike once more ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games, to be held in Paris.

Speaking after the race, Pidock said: “The first two laps were savage. Not too great positional start but then my starts are not good anyway. The first few laps were hard but when I got to the front it was a bit better.

“It’s always the case in these races, the positioning, and into the descent nobody wanted to go first, and it was getting a bit tactical.

“I was a bit far back, I should have been on Sam’s wheel. He was the favourite today, I’m happy with a medal to be honest, it’s not really my cup of tea. These guys are more suited to the explosive stuff so I’m quite happy with third to be honest.”

Richards earned another bronze for Britain after finishing nine seconds behind the winner, Pauline Ferrand Prevot, who triumphed with a time of 21:17.

The 26-year-old was able to add another medal to the gold she won at the Commonwealth Games last year in the cross-country event.

Silver went to Netherlands’ Puck Pieterse.