🎥 'Petrolhead' Pidcock swaps two wheels for four as Nürburgring video goes viral

Most riders use a rest period during the season to spend time with family, play a round of golf, or simply do nothing — but Tom Pidcock does things a bit differently. The Pinarello-Q36.5 rider suddenly posted a video on Instagram of himself behind the wheel of a racing car at the world-famous Nürburgring. Well, why not.

Pidcock has taken a break after his second-place finish at Eschborn-Frankfurt. The Briton is making his own way towards the Tour de France and will only race once more beforehand — at the Tour de Suisse. In the meantime, the adventure-seeking rider, who is sponsored by Red Bull, had a rather enjoyable idea for how to fill his downtime.

His team responded to Cycling Weekly with a statement about their team leader's activities. "Tom has a long-standing passion for cars and this was simply one of the ways he chose to unwind during a planned rest period." A team spokesperson added that everything was done safely. "The activity took place in a structured and controlled environment, was carried out responsibly, and happened during a scheduled recovery period within his programme."

Pidcock himself certainly seems to have enjoyed it, judging by the caption on his post, in which he says he is feeling fresh for an important summer. The same Instagram post also features a t-shirt bearing the slogan: 'Fuck Nudes, send me your Nürburgring lap times.' UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider João Almeida then appeared in the comments, tongue firmly in cheek, with the line: "Sent both. Just in case." Solid humour from the Portuguese rider — who clearly has a bit of time on his hands after withdrawing from the Giro d'Italia.