Tom Pidcock made it clear during Stage 18 of the Tour de France that
the general classification has become his main goal. The 26-year-old Brit was still attacking aggressively in the first and second weeks, but that is partly why he has slipped to eighth place in the general classification. On the 18th stage, the team demonstrated that it intends to at least hold onto that position.
Pidcock came to the Tour de France
to have fun. His coach, Kurt Bogaerts, said after a difficult preparation period (due to a crash in Catalonia and an illness in June) that Pidcock mainly wants to take something away from the Tour. For a long time, the general classification was a goal for 2026, but that took a back seat.
In the first two weeks, Pidcock didn’t deliberately lose any time anywhere, but in
Stage 6 over the Tourmalet, he simply wasn’t good enough, which created an opening to attack. Pidcock finished third in Stage 9, won by Mathieu van der Poel, and did so again in Stage 13 in the Vosges. In the span of three days, he was in the mix three times and made up quite a bit of time in the overall standings.
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Pidcock aims for the Tour de France general classification
In the third week, Pidcock shifted his focus from attacking to the general classification. Thanks to an outstanding time trial (
“perhaps my best ever”) in Stage 16, he moved up to eighth place, and so Pinarello-Q36.5 dared to take the lead for the first time, as there were dangerous riders in the day’s breakaway and Pidcock was in danger of losing ground in the top ten.
Richard Carapaz, who
ultimately won the stage, was the biggest challenge. Pidcock’s team led the peloton—which included the general classification contenders—toward and up the final climb, reducing the gap from 8 minutes to 5.5 minutes. Tudor also pitched in, while the rest of the work was done by the general classification teams vying for the podium. As a result, the general classification group finished 4.35 minutes behind Carapaz.
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Pidcock didn't want to give Carapaz any 'free time'
Thanks to the work of Pinarello-Q36.5, Carapaz was kept at bay. Pidcock is in eighth place, nearly 13 minutes behind Tadej Pogacar in the yellow jersey; Carapaz is now the new number ten, exactly 21 minutes behind. So mission accomplished, Pidcock noted. “Today wasn’t easy. I wanted to join the breakaway one more time, but nobody wanted me there. I knew even before the stage that everyone had me on their blacklist.”
For that reason, Pidcock settled for a spot in the peloton, now truly as a general classification contender. “We controlled the final climb. When you have Richard Carapaz in the breakaway, you simply can’t give him any free time. I have too much respect for him as a rider to do that. The focus is now entirely on the general classification, all the way to Paris.”