Bec McConnell finished 28th, as Australia's chase for an elusive mountain biking medal continues in Paris

McConnell is ranked third in the world for cross-country mountain biking, but like her first and second rank counterparts, failed to reach the podium in Tokyo.

The 29-year-old began her third Olympics on the back foot on Tuesday, reaching a race high of 11th place during the opening lap, before falling back to 28^th.

It was a Switzerland affair on the podium, after Swiss rider Jolanda Neff won the race with a time of 1:15:46, followed by her Swiss peers Sina Frei and Linda Indergand.

McConnell, alongside her husband Dan McConnell who finished 30^th during his race on Monday, were Australia's only athletes competing in the event.

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Meanwhile, men's mountain bike race winner Tom Pidcock has spoken of the stress involved in the event.

Pidcock delivered Great Britain a history-making triumph in Izu City on Monday, becoming the youngest Olympic mountain-biking champion.

"Once we started I was fine, all the nerves kind of went and I concentrated on the race," the 21-year-old said.

"I'm happy this shit [the Olympics] is only every four years because it's f---ing stressful. It's nothing like any other race."

Pidcock led throughout the second half of the 28.25km race to finish 20 seconds ahead of nearest rival Mathias Flueckiger.

It came less than two months after the Yorkshireman suffered a broken collarbone after being hit by a car while training.

"It's been a such a hard time, coming here from crashing," Pidcock said.

"That's just unbelievable. I know that my mum and girlfriend are crying at home. It's sad that they can't be here but I see them when I get home."