A smiling Pidcock is the most dangerous Pidcock, according to Q36.5: "Some people might want to change him"

Pidcock got off to a flying start this year and ended his first part of the season after a crash in Milan-Sanremo. Once back, he finished ninth in the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège and third in the Flèche Wallonne. "But he was unfortunate to puncture in the last 10km of Amstel Gold, and he should have been second or third at Liège [Bastogne-Liège]. There have been a few small mistakes like hydration and fuelling errors," said Bogaerts.

In the Giro d'Italia, Pidcock immediately kicked off with fifth place in the first stage and rode an excellent time trial on day 2. "Full throttle every day," is his ambition in this race, whether that leads to stage success or a good overall classification. "Tom has definitely become a better rider and we see that his numbers have also improved. There have been a lot of small things, different parts of the puzzle that have come together."

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Bogaerts aims for more intensity, while Pidcock has maintained the same volume in his training and has taken steps in his nutrition. But it is, above all, the smile on the face of the two-time Olympic mountain biking champion that stands out. "He’s in a good place again and you can see that he’s enjoying racing his bike," his trainer observes. "We don’t have a massive target for him, but we instead just want to get the maximum out of him."

That seems to be working because while INEOS wanted to turn him into a GC contender for years, Q36.5 mainly wants Pidcock to be able to compete in every race. "We’re not saying we want to win a particular race – we just want to be consistently in the game, give him the tools to perform on the day, and we’ll see where it brings him"

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The fact that Pidcock skipped cyclo-cross last winter doesn't mean we'll only see him in action on the road. Bogaerts emphasizes that his protégé remains a rider for all disciplines. "That’s who he is. Maybe people want to change him to go in one particular direction, but Tom hasn’t made that choice yet and maybe never will make a definitive choice."

According to the Belgian, it's all about progress, whatever bike that may be on. 2He just sees progression in every part of cycling, and he pushes everyone around him to support him in that kind of philosophy. We will do some mountain biking this summer and then gravel at the end of the year, and it’s what he likes to do. In his current program, I don’t think that’ll bring any negatives onto the road. It cannot be an excuse not to perform at his best on the road."