One after another gets dropped in the Vuelta, but Pidcock admits he was riding at a leisurely pace: "Not very hard"

In recent years, Pidcock has been busy adding numerous checkmarks to his list of achievements, but that has mainly been in the mud or on the rocks. He became world champion in cyclo-cross and mountain biking, and he was also twice Olympic champion in MTB. This year, he added a European title, allowing him to focus on the road truly. Pidcock won his first stage race with the AlUla Tour and doubled his number of road victories from five to ten in 2025.

After winning the European mountain bike championship, Pidcock meticulously prepared for the Vuelta, his big goal for the fall. Although he has already won a stage in the Tour de France on Alpe d'Huez and finished in the top 20 three times in five Grand Tours, the next step now must be the top 10 or better. “I'm going all out for the GC, with a lot of finishes that should suit me. That way, I can also go for a stage win, because winning is ultimately the most fun; riding for the GC alone brings less satisfaction,” he said.

The big question after the first rest day was: how would everyone perform in stage 10? Pidcock certainly didn't suffer any pain. After the race, he proudly concluded on Eurosport: “The start was blazing fast, but to be honest, that’s not too hard when you’re in the slipstream. Nevertheless, there were many tired bodies, as evidenced by the size of the peloton in the final. I knew it was a tough final climb, but it went so fast that it wasn’t too bad.”

Pidcock responded seemingly efficiently to accelerations from João Almeida and sprinted out of the group of favorites to cross the finish line first, in fifth place. "I feel great. My performance before the first rest day also gave me a lot of confidence. I felt good today too, so it seems that I'm improving as the race progresses," he said with a meaningful grin. Because, of course, the Vuelta is yet to begin, and the mountain finishes have been extremely tough so far.

Pidcock's thorough preparation for the Vuelta seems to be paying off. “Definitely. We knew that the Giro in May was a possibility, but I didn't want to change my plans for the classics. I didn't want to make any sacrifices for the Giro, so that race was just too much for me. I wasn't fresh, and I wasn't ready. That's different now.”