Pidcock on the Tour de France and following Pogačar on the Poggio: 'He’s a demon. It was incredible'

Tom Pidcock has had a season of ups and downs. The Brit finished second in Milan-San Remo, where he was the only rider able to follow Tadej Pogačar, but later crashed heavily in the Tour of Catalonia. He now seems to be slowly finding his form again and is preparing for his fourth Tour de France. Speaking to The Guardian, he discussed his season and the future.

The year began excellently for Pidcock, with several podium finishes in Spain and, as the icing on the cake, his second place behind Pogačar. Despite the Slovenian crashing before the Cipressa, the Brit still came within a tyre's width of beating him. "Up the Poggio, when I was following his attack, it was like racing a zombie,” he said. “He was white, white skinsuit, white shorts cut up, blood. He’s a demon. It was incredible.”

The Brit had a lot of respect for the world champion’s determination. “He could have easily thrown in a towel. He got up. And he still won the race. That was a really incredible thing.” Still, Pidcock understands why people are getting tired of Pogačar’s dominance. “You have to embrace it and accept it, but they’re not wrong, are they?” he replies.

After his strong Milan-San Remo, things went wrong for the Pinarello-Q36.5 leader in the Tour of Catalonia. “Once I’d got out of the ditch, I could get on the bike and I could kind of pedal," he said. "My shoulder, my elbow and my hand initially hurt the most. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve definitely broken something here but maybe I haven’t. I’m going to finish the stage'."

In the end, Pidcock had indeed suffered fractures in the crash. “My knee was massive and I couldn’t walk. I was just super lucky I didn’t just explode it given the amount of bruising on both sides of it.”

After a short rehabilitation, the Brit returned sooner than expected. “But I actually felt all right on the bike. I was like: ‘OK, let’s go race. Why not?’ And to be honest that’s quite brave, because I’m in the spotlight. I’m showing myself up a little bit if I’m not good. People expect me to perform.”

The Brit is brave, as his rapid descending shows. He is rarely afraid of crashing. “It’s part of what we do. Mistakes happen. In general, with anticipation, you can tell when something’s going to go wrong," he explains. "Also it’s about where you’re positioned in the peloton. If you’re strong enough to be at the front, generally you’re going to be safer. Or at the back, you’re safe. In the middle, in the death zone, then you’re asking for it. If there’s a crash, there’s no way out.

"The Grand Tour thing doesn’t really excite me", claims Pidcock, but he's very clear about his main goals on the road: "I want a Monument." But I want to win the road worlds, because then I will have a world title in all three disciplines.” The multi-talented rider already has world titles in cyclo-cross and mountain biking.

Pidcock has many plans left in cycling. But has Pidcock thought about retirement plans?

"For sure, I’m going for three Olympic medals. My goal is to finish my career after five Olympics, so after the 2036 Olympic Games, I’ll retire.”

Pidcock has not ruled out winning a Grand Tour either. "If I manage to win a Grand Tour it will be the biggest achievement in my career, because for me to concentrate for three weeks is difficult.,” he says honestly. This year he will face Jonas Vingegaard, Paul Seixas and Pogačar in the Tour, and the Brit believes he can make life difficult for them.

“Everything I’ve ever achieved in my career, I’ve always imagined doing it first before I’ve done it," he says "I’ve never done anything out of the blue, like magic. So having that stepping stone, I know I can be on the podium again."

“I’m not saying that I have the ability right now to beat Tadej and Seixas and Vingegaard. But in the right situation, I can see it happening. And with the right situation, I can win a Grand Tour.” the Brit concludes confidently.

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]