Pidcock won’t shy away from another showdown with Pogačar at Strade Bianche

Pidcock will take on Pogačar again this Saturday at Strade Bianche, a race where the Brit has finished in the top five in all four of his appearances. He won in 2023 and stayed with Pogačar for a long time last year too, before the Slovenian ultimately rode away to victory and Pidcock finished second at a respectful distance.

With Strade Bianche expected to be pleasantly warm on Saturday, Bogaerts believes Pidcock’s excellent winter should show itself. The Belgian performance boss spoke of “positive signals” after Omloop, because despite plenty of bad luck, Pidcock still finished only two minutes down on winner Mathieu van der Poel.

After an altitude camp in Chile, Pidcock appears ready for his first big goal of the spring. The Brit is spending the entire week in Tuscany, including multiple equipment tests. The plan: perform at Strade Bianche and then build towards Milan–Turin, Milan–Sanremo, Catalunya and the Ardennes Classics, finishing with Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

Bogaerts expects Pidcock to be able to hold his current level for roughly two months. And at his new team, he says Pidcock is already feeling “less stressed”. “He’s positively surprised by his new teammates,” Bogaerts said.

A stronger team could be the extra few percent Pidcock needs in his battles with Pogačar — a rivalry that could stretch from Strade Bianche all the way through to Liège. “We shouldn’t complain,” Bogaerts added. “It’s only good for the sport that Pogačar is interested in such a wide range of races.”