Impressive Pidcock draws Almeida’s wath: "He told me to grow some balls"

Pidcock knew he had a good chance of winning a stage on Sunday. “I felt excellent,” he said in the flash interview. When Vingegaard attacked, the Brit was unable to keep up. “When Jonas and Ciccone went, it was tough to follow. Jonas always has four teammates between him and the peloton, and Trek was at the front. But I thought Almeida was the perfect wheel to follow, that we might be able to come back.”

They got close, but ended up about seven seconds behind. After that, the gap increased. The Portuguese rider put a lot of pressure on Pidcock, who was just happy to keep up. “Hats off to him: I couldn't help much, and he yelled at me, but he's like a tractor. On that flat section, and especially in the last kilometer, it was impressive. I could barely get past him. But I'm happy, to be honest.”

Almeida shouted at Pidcock during the chase, who occasionally contributed. What did he shout at the Brit? ‘He said I needed to grow some balls,’ Pidcock laughs. “I said, ' If you slow down a bit, I can keep up and take turns.” In the end, the pair crossed the finish line in Valdezcaray 24 seconds behind the winner, Vingegaard, with a lead of more than 1 minute and 20 seconds over the rest of their rivals.

This means that Pidcock currently occupies fourth place in the GC, 1.35 minutes behind red jersey wearer Torstein Traeen. “It's a good thing. We wanted to win the stage, but Jonas is Jonas. You can't give him any space, but I can be satisfied. I'm happy, I think it's difficult to know exactly what my capabilities are. Sometimes I'm a bit cautious, but this gives me confidence for the tougher days ahead.”

Q36.5, together with Lidl-Trek, took responsibility for chasing down the breakaway riders. The pro-continental team is showing how serious they are about their leader, Pidcock. “They are 100% committed to me, and I am very grateful for that. It's a great group of guys, and we have a lot of fun. We have to seize the opportunities here in the Grand Tours with both hands, so they are doing a great job.”

While the Brit made an impression, Ciccone was unable to reward his teammates' efforts. He lost a lot of time. Other riders who had already been active in the earlier stages were also unable to keep up. “I saw them all sprinting halfway up the climbs, and I thought they would have to pay for that later,” Pidcock said. “But there's a long way to go; it's no time for conclusions yet.”