The real reason behind Pidcock and his ‘Chile group’ struggling in the Belgian Opening Weekend

Pidcock only rode Omloop on Saturday, while Wright added Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne on Sunday. Neither Brit exactly rode the cobbles out of the road. Pidcock finished a low-key 48th, while Wright followed an 80th place in Omloop by failing to finish Kuurne. Aimé De Gendt was the best finisher for Pinarello–Q36.5 on both days.

“I really suffered in the cold,” Wright said on Sunday morning about his disappointing Omloop. Saturday was bleak and wet, with strong winds, and rider after rider came across the line freezing. “Normally I’m pretty good in those conditions, because I’ve always trained through the winter in recent years. But in Omloop it was genuinely grim.”

So what caused it? Wright was open and honest. Together with Pidcock and a small group of teammates, the Brit went to Chile in January for an altitude training camp — at high elevation and in warm temperatures. “In Chile, we were laughing while watching the snow and rain in Europe,” Wright explained. “But those guys were laughing at us on Saturday.”

It was clear the bodies of the ‘Chile group’ needed time to adjust to much cooler conditions. In races like the Clásica Jaén and Ruta del Sol, it had still been pleasantly warm — and Pidcock and Wright performed strongly. But in Belgium, the temperatures bit hard. Brent Van Moer, who also went to Chile, rode anonymously as well: 120th on Saturday and 132nd on Sunday. Was that down to the cold too?

The team’s bodies should adapt again soon. And when they do, Wright promised IDL Procycling that the Chile group will have excellent legs. “The effect of the altitude camp is really good, because I feel great in training,” he said. “An altitude camp ahead of the classics is really nice in that sense, because it means you’re strong in the races you actually want to be strong in.”

Wright went a step further. “I don’t think the altitude camp itself was all that different in pure training terms — but mentally it was refreshing to do something completely new. A different approach, right after joining a new team… The last few years I always did the same thing in Calpe. Physically we’ve taken a step, but mentally as well.”

That sounds promising. Pidcock has already made an impression this season — including his win on the final stage of the Ruta del Sol — and on Saturday 7 March he will want to be there again at Strade Bianche. “If you’ve got a guy like Tom, you love riding on the front when he does things like he did on the final day of Ruta del Sol,” Wright said with a grin. “I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Wright continued: “Tom was one of the main reasons for me to come to this team. We’re racing again like we used to — without stress. That’s what we want to do all year.” On 21 March, the two Brits are set to line up together again, with Pidcock having a major date circled in his diary. “I’m really looking forward to Milan–Sanremo with Tom.”

Bram van der Ploeg ( X: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])