All eyes on Roubaix, but Pidcock hopefully eyes Ardennes return

Tom Pidcock raced Paris-Roubaix himself in 2024, but the Brit is skipping the cobbles this season for the second year running. While he rolled through last spring fit and fresh, a crash in the Tour of Catalonia meant he could not have started on Sunday even if he wanted to. Yet the day before Paris-Roubaix, he shared a hopeful update on his recovery.

Pidcock went down on stage five in Catalonia, crashing into a ravine on a descent. It was not captured on camera, but the Brit from Pinarello-Q36.5 confirmed the following day that he had been incredibly lucky. He even finished the stage after being pulled out of the ravine via radio contact.

Before the start of stage six, however, the decision was taken not to continue. Pidcock had sustained more damage than initially thought, particularly to his right knee. There were small stress fractures, the ligaments in the knee had taken a heavy blow, and fluid had built up. Pidcock went home to Andorra and began his recovery there.

That recovery has gone surprisingly well, judging by an Instagram post from the two-time Olympic mountain bike champion. Pidcock kept himself busy with his fiancée, two dogs, a LEGO set, the Andorran outdoors, and he had even been on the turbo trainer. The best news came on Saturday, however, when Pidcock was back riding outside. 'There's always a bright side, but it's better to be cycling.'

Pinarello-Q36.5 say we should not draw conclusions just yet about Pidcock, who in principle has the Ardennes Classics on his programme — from Brabantse Pijl through to Liège-Bastogne-Liège. A decision on whether or not he will start has not yet been taken. But that also means the hilly Classics have not been crossed off his calendar.