Pidcock indirectly backs Vingegaard with telling World Championship comment: "A survival test, absolutely brutal"

Shortly after the finish, Pidcock came through the mixed zone and stopped at Eurosport. “The most unenjoyable race of the year,” he began with a telling smile. “Why? It was so bad... I didn't feel so good at the start either,” he continued, still panting from the effort.

Pidcock eventually sprinted to tenth place, more than nine (!) minutes behind winner Tadej Pogacar. And that despite being in contention for the podium places for quite some time in the final. “I was slowly getting into the race, but then I completely blew. From there, it was a matter of survival to the finish. There's not much more to say; it was absolutely brutal.”

Pidcock fought hard, losing most of his time in the last two laps. Before that, he had even hoped for much more. “At one point, there were five of us behind Tadej, and I thought: now anything is possible. But then the legs fell off,” he joked again.

Of course, in addition to the grueling course, the altitude and heat in Rwanda also played a role. Pidcock had tried to downplay those conditions before the race, but he revisited that after the race. “I played it down before I actually did any effort. It was hard.”

When the 26-year-old Brit looked around in the final, he saw few men who had competed in the Vuelta a España for the GC. Giulio Ciccone and Juan Ayuso finished sixth and eighth at the World Championships, but had already focused on this race in the Vuelta. Pidcock had to dig deep until the very last kilometer to secure his podium place in Madrid.

The top ten from the Vuelta played no role at the World Championships, except for number ten, Pidcock. Did Vingegaard and Almeida make the right choice to skip it after all? "I think I was the best of the men who came from the Vuelta, but you can't have everything these days. I did my best, as I said, that's it. I'm happy with my performance."