Olympic champion Tom Pidcock blasted to World Cup gold on his return to mountain bike racing in Albstadt, Germany.
The 22-year-old reminded the world of his all-round threat with a dominant ride, clinching a second MTB World Cup win on the fifth start of his career.
Pidcock used one of two steep climbs on lap three of six to launch the decisive attack.
“They set off really fast in the first few laps, really hard, and I found myself on the front” said the Yorkshireman.
“Nino (Schurter) was pushing hard on the descents but the race stayed together.
"I just thought I would test the water a little bit and see where everyone was really at and I got a gap.”
Pidcock sprung clear of a five-strong leading group - featuring 12-time world champion Schurter - building a ten-second advantage on a single climb.
The Tokyo hero established a 45-second lead and continued to climb faster than the rest of the field in a strong second half of the race.
Pidcock crossed the line, with a cheeky wheelie celebration, 20 seconds ahead of Swiss Schurter in silver.
The victory came a day after Pidcock crashed on the penultimate lap of Friday's short track sprint race.
“It was hard,” said the Brit. “I haven’t ridden my mountain bike so much this year yet, it’s a different sort of effort.
“Up those climbs, being able to go deep repeatedly and recover, it wasn’t where it was last year at Nove Mesto or the Olympics."
Pidcock stunned the MTB World Cup last year in roaring from 11th row on the grid to reach the podium, also in Albstadt.
He went on to win gold at Nove Mesto, the first top-level victory for a British rider since 1994, where he returns next week for the third stage of the new World Cup season.
Already in 2022, Pidcock has raced a Classics season for Ineos Grenadiers and enjoyed a historic cyclocross season that saw him take five World Cup golds and be crowned world champion.
He has preferred a stint on the mountain bike to the ongoing Giro d’Italia, with a tilt at the Tour de France touted for later in the year.
"I want to win the world title," said Pidcock. "Maybe the Euros as well, I'm going to ride there as well. If I do that, I can say I've achieved a bit in mountain biking."
It was a memorable day for British cyclists as Mark Cavendish struck on the Grand Tour stage once again.
In the early stages of his first Giro d'Italia appearance in nine years, the Manx Missile sprinted to Stage Three victory in Balatonfüred, Hungary. It was Cavendish's 16th Giro stage win.
The Olympic silver medallist moved on to 53 Grand Tour stage wins which leaves him third all-time, four behind Mario Cipolini and 11 behind Eddy Merckx.
Sportsbeat 2022