Tom Pidcock celebrated his 25th birthday on Tuesday, winning his second consecutive mountain bike Olympic title.

Pidcock was physically and mentally exhausted after his win on Monday afternoon.

"Usually after a mountain bike race I do a long ride. But this time I'm going to take some time to recover and refresh and go from there," Pidcock said of his recovery plan.

"I want to spend time with my family; I only get to see them a very few times during the year, and I think this is a special time.

Pidcock will focus on the road race starting Wednesday, possibly with a training ride with Josh Tarling, who is in Paris after the time trial. On Thursday afternoon, the 18km city finish circuit will be closed to traffic for a final reconnaissance ride.

"It's all about how we digest the next two days," his coach, Kurt Bogarts, told Sporza.

"Everything that comes now is a nice bonus. The road race course is not ideal for him, but he will be able to compete for medals."

Pidcock had a number of Olympic obligations as a medal winner on Wednesday, but was given a training break by British performance director Stephen Parkes.

"Tom has to enjoy this moment. He was so focused on this race that it was draining him a lot, emotionally and physically," Parkes said.

"Being a consummate professional, he will be back racing soon. He is already in a post-race recovery protocol. I am confident he will be in good shape."

Pidcock was a favorite to win the mountain bike race. He is also a favorite to win the road race, but will be up against some of the best classic riders in the world, including Mathieu van der Pol (Netherlands), Wout van Aert and Remco Evenpool (Belgium), Biniam Girmay (Eritrea) and Julien Alaphilippe (France).

Pidcock has won the Strade Bianche and the Amstel Gold Race and has been impressive in other classic races. He leads the British team in the 272-km road race, with Josh Tarling, Stevie Williams, and Fred Wright also in the lineup of four riders.

His gold medal win in the mountain bike race, and his final-lap dive into France's Victor Koretzky after recovering from a puncture, was intense and emotional.

"I think the win gives me a lot of confidence for the road race," Parkes suggested.

"We definitely need to have a good run as a team and it will motivate the other riders. Tom has the legs and the desire to race, so everyone will be willing to run for him. So it should be a great race."

While a double gold medal is possible for Piddock and Great Britain, Parkes knows that road racing is more unpredictable and uncontrollable.

"It's possible," he said. But if there's one event in cycling you can't bet on, I think it's the road race. It's a tough race. It's usually a war of attrition, and if the entire peloton is against you, it's incredibly hard to win.

"But it's possible. But it's possible.