London, England – The Czech Republic's Jaroslav Kulhavy edged Switzerland's Nino Schurter to win gold in the men's mountain bike race Sunday at the London Olympics.
In the final cycling event of these games, Kulhavy, Schurter and Italy's Marco Aurelio Fontana rode the final few laps of the Hadleigh Farm course together, ahead of the rest of the field.
Fontana was dropped on the final lap, when his seatpost snapped off, leaving him without a saddle.
Kulhavy, the reigning world champion in cross-country mountain biking, then passed Schurter on a short climb shortly before the finish. After the two crested the climb, they descended down a small series of chicanes leading into the home stretch.
Kulhavy led on the way down, then held off a sprint from Schurter to cross the line first. It is the Czech Republic's first medal in any Olympic cycling event.
"It was really hard, because we went full-gas the whole time," Kulhavy said. "I was amazingly strong. I gave everything for this race."
He finished in 1 hour, 29 minutes and 7 seconds, while Schurter was one second behind for silver. The Swiss rider won bronze four years ago in Beijing.
Fontana held on to take bronze, crossing the line only four seconds before Spain's Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos.
Canada's Geoff Kabush finished eighth, while the top U.S. finish came from Todd Wells in 10th. France's Julien Absalon, the two-time defending champion, did not finish.
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