Tom Pidcock of Great Britain, who finished fourth in the under-23 men's road race at the World Championships in Yorkshire on Friday, slunk through the mixed zone on the verge of tears. He had given everything he had in the race, and despite crashing, had crawled back up and was in contention for the win.

Nils Ikhoff of the Netherlands was disqualified and stripped of the rainbow jersey.

"It's really frustrating. I did everything I could to get to the start line. Up until the last 50 meters, I was going to win the World Championships. But I didn't have any more legs left. I ran as fast as I could to the finish line, but that was it."

The cyclo-cross star did not blame the crash for missing out on the rainbow jersey, but his preparation for the world championships had taken a hit after a heavy crash in the Tour de Lavenir stage race in August.

"I can't say I was the best prepared," he said. And the support on the road was unbelievable," he said. I've never had anything like this before. Every single person cheered my name. I'll never forget it."

"I'll never forget it.

The controversial decision by the UCI to disqualify Eickhoff caused chaos at the finish, and Pidcock was ushered to the podium to receive his bronze medal after returning to the team pit.

"To be honest, I didn't really want to win a medal, but rules have rules and if you break them, results will follow. But rules have rules, and if you break them, results will follow.

"The bronze medal gave me more time to enjoy the spectators and the podium. There is only one thing that matters at the World Championships. But I wanted the jersey."