Tom Pidcock won the Olympic men's XC MTB yesterday, following Pauline Ferrand-Prevot's impressive win in the women's race the day before.

Both Pidcock and Ferrand-Prevot are away from international assignments, both with the Ineos Grenadiers Pro Team and both using Pinarello mountain bikes. Ferrand-Prevot chose a hardtail machine with only a front suspension fork, while Pidcock opted for a full suspension model.

However, both riders used the exact same wheelset, which caught the eye with its unusual white spokes.

The wheels were custom made, using Minnesota brand Veld poly-lite spokes, P1 Race Tech carbon fiber rims, and non-plastic hubs.

We thought we'd delve into the technology, specs, and cost of these white spokes and the wheels that have won two consecutive Olympic mountain bike titles. [The spokes on the wheelset are made by Beld and manufactured from Dyneema, a type of polyethylene. Dyneema is said to have a much stronger strength-to-weight ratio than steel, while being much lighter than conventional spokes. Veld Polylite spokes have been available for some time but have not been used in World Tour road racing. Since each spoke weighs less than 3 grams, you will most likely see them in ultralight hill climb wheelsets.

Dyneema Verdo "string" spokes have threads to connect to the spoke nipples, one end of which is the same gauge as regular metal spokes. Until then, they are not rigid and look like shoelaces or strings. The other end of the spoke uses an eyelet that threads into the flange of a J-bend or straight-pull hub.

The spokes themselves are priced at £7/$8 each on the Beld website. This is more expensive than a typical, decent quality spoke that usually sells for 1-3 pounds.

The total number of spokes on the Pidcock and Ferrand-Prevot wheels is 28 front and rear. The spokes alone for each player's wheelset total £392/$448.

It is likely that both riders tested different wheels and spoke tensions before the match and chose this set-up for weight savings and ride comfort.

Cost per pair of wheels: £392/$448

The hubs for the wheels were made by German wheel and hub manufacturer Nonplus Components. Both riders used NonPlus MTB Boost hub sets, which cost €700 per pair.

According to the brand's website, the aluminum hubsets feature a "conical gear" freehub body design that "improves surface contact by 400%." In layman's terms, this means an angled drive ring system on the freehub body, which improves drive under load and is certainly suited to the demands of MTB racing.

The hub's bearings contain a special lubricant that is thinner than regular grease and is said to "significantly reduce friction. The rear hub weighs 177 grams. The weight of the front is not listed, but will be even lighter.

Cost per wheelset: €700 / £589 / $758

Completing the build are wheel rims made by P1 Race Tech. which appears to be a subsidiary of Princeton Carbon Works. Ineos Grenadiers, the trade team for both riders, has recently been using Princeton wheels primarily in time trials, but has also used the brand's road wheels in the past, despite being sponsored by Shimano. There is a clear connection to the road world here, with P1's website stating that it is an official partner of the Ineos Grenadiers road team.

The rims used by both riders are Singularis M30 carbon fiber wheel rims. They also have the same "wave" rim profile as other Princeton wheels. Prices range from $1,800 to $2,200.

Adding wheels with the same specifications to the website's shopping cart would bring the total to $2,800 and appears to be rear wheels only. The brand also states that riders can also purchase the M26 model, but this is not currently listed on the website.

We contacted P1 and obtained additional information about the wheel. As a result, our suspicions that the wheels (or at least the rims) were designed solely for use by Ferran Prevot and Pidcock have been confirmed. It also told us that this was the first set of wheels that the athletes "couldn't break." [The goal of the P1 Singlaris M30 and M26 was to create the fastest, toughest, race-ready wheelset to win at the Olympics. We went through a very iterative design process starting in 2022, working directly with Ineos, Pinarello, Paulin, Tom, and their coaches and mechanics."

As is to be expected in the face of an event like the Olympic MTB race, a program of testing and development was undertaken to help riders settle on the best setup for the race.

"In 2023 and 2024, Tom and Pauline tested different spoke types, spoke tensions, tire widths, rim widths, and tire pressures, and conducted numerous on-site tests to determine the best settings for each rider and all conditions. Team mechanic Rune Christensen was key to this development.

Cost per wheelset: $2,800 (NonPlus / Berd rear wheels) * Prices for rim/front wheels are not currently listed online.