There was plenty to be proud of with the sixth place finish for Sam Gaze in the men’s mountain bike at the Paris Olympic Games.

While he had high hopes of a first Olympic podium for MTB, Gaze fought back from a tricky start with his sixth placing matching the previous best of Anton Cooper in Tokyo.

Getting position into the tight, uphill first corner was a key target, but a gap was closed on him and he was forced to button off and dropped placings and time. He showed poise and purpose to work his way from over 30 seconds down to pushing for a podium position with two laps remaining.

He positioned himself behind defending champion Tom Pidcock, but the push took its toll and Gaze was unable to go with the Brit, who would win his second gold medal over Frenchman Victor Koretzky.

While Sam was disappointed with his ride, he was proud of his sixth placing.

“It was not what I came for. Once I got pushed back in that first corner, then I was proud of how I worked my way back and got into a great position. But I just didn’t have the legs to go with Pidcock.

“Tomorrow I will look back and see that was a ride to be proud of. And I have already started thinking about the world championships next month and on to Los Angeles in four years time.”