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Tom Pidcock is 25 and he’s almost completed cycling. The Yorkshireman is already a world and double Olympic champion on his mountain bike, a world champion on his cyclo-cross bike, and the winner of three classics on his road bike. He’s a world champion on the road too, albeit as a junior. So, barring a sudden pivot to the velodrome, that really leaves only one realm left to conquer.
There is no reason why Pidcock shouldn’t be a sensational stage racer, except perhaps for the fact that his multiple talents have made him hard to pin down. What is Pidcock’s role at the grand tours: stage hunter? General classification botherer? Super domestique?
At times while riding for Ineos Grenadiers he has seemed like all of those and none of them. His purpose was never clearly defined, nor was it prioritised. Pidcock’s four grand tour appearances to date have hardly been failures, with two top-20 finishes at the Tour de France and one famous stage victory atop Alpe d’Huez that will live long in the memory. And yet for a rider of his abundant talent, there is still so much more to be achieved at cycling’s three king races.
That potential could be glimpsed over the next three weeks as Pidcock embarks on his first Giro d’Italia as the leader of his new team, Q36.5. The Swiss outfit were set up two years ago and only have second-tier status in the ProSeries, but they have lofty ambitions in the sport and at the heart of those ambitions is their leader. Flick through the team’s website and just about every marketing photo is of Pidcock: unzipping the Q36.5 jersey, flashing the Q36.5 shoes, suggestively rubbing the Q36.5 shorts.
This was the point of switching teams, of course, to escape the giant Ineos machine and become the face of a smaller project. Pidcock wanted a team who fully supported his multi-disciplinary ambitions, who threw their weight behind whatever he set his sights on. More than anything, he wanted a team who let him choose when and where he was going to race. “The thing about [Q36.5] is the belief in me, that shared vision of success, and freedom to be able to race my bike,” he said, in a not-so-subtle hint that he felt shackled in his final year at Ineos.
His form has been impressive this season, with four wins including top-10 placings at all three Ardennes classics in April. And his role at the grand tours now seems clearer. Pidcock has talked about building to one day challenge for the podiums of the Giro and Tour de France, but the goal this month is simply to win stages. “Honestly, I’m not really interested in that,” he said this week when asked about the general classification. “We’re here to pick our moments. The route looks really exciting, full of opportunities for riders like me.”
This year’s Giro begins in Albania and visits Slovenia before entering Italy, and an opportunity might immediately present itself on Friday’s stage one, a hilly route to the Albanian capital Tirana where the maglia rosa is on the line. Pidcock suggested victory on stage one was “not likely” with some of the quick finishers expected to last the distance, but if it is not to be then there will be plenty of other chances. Stage eight is well suited to Pidcock’s strengths, peppered as it is with four categorised climbs, while stage 11 is similarly gruelling enough to eliminate the sprinters. And he will certainly have eyes for stage nine, a mini Strade Bianche, the classic he won in 2023.
Pidcock’s indifference towards the general classification could play into his hands later in the race, when the GC contenders allow him to escape up the road in breakaways. “I don’t want to go all-in too early,” he said. “We’ll study the route, pick our moments and try to make the most of them.”
Q36.5 are only in the race as a late wildcard entry, awarded by organisers due to Pidcock’s star power – it is a measure of his status that he was at the top riders’ press conference this week despite representing such a low-ranked team. Yet he appears unfazed by the pressure of being his team’s totem. “We’ve got to show we deserve this spot,” he said.
The Olympics have seen the very best of Pidcock, and so too have some of the spring classics, most notably Strade Bianche – “racing in Italy is always special and I’ve got a lot of great memories,” he said this week. Now one of the most prestigious stage races in cycling will get its first taste of his talents as he makes his Giro debut. It might just throw up something all too rare at the grand tours: Pidcock unleashed.
English (US) ·