Tom Pidcock's coach knows enough after a week of the Tour de France: 'That is not really the case right now'
CyclingThursday, 09 July 2026 at 08:24
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Follow us on GoogleLike all the other general classification contenders, Tom Pidcock is gearing up for the first real climbing test in the Tour de France. In the winter, The 26-year-old Brit expressed his ambition since to aim for a strong GC result at the Tour de France. But his coach, Kurt Bogaerts, told IDL Pro Cycling that this might no longer be a realistic goal in 2026.
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First things first: Pidcock didn’t get off to a bad start at all in the Tour de France. Pinarello-Q36.5 put up a valiant fight in the team time trial, and in Stage 2, the Q36.5 team leader finished alongside the other general classification contenders. A day later, in the stage to Les Angles won by Tadej Pogacar, Pidcock lost a bit more time. But that seemed to be mainly due to the heat.
After the stage, Pidcock complained about the extreme temperatures, which rose above 40 degrees. He called the conditions “ridiculous,” comparing them to “a war zone.” “I think we went through about 10,000 water bottles today,” he added. “I had absolutely nothing left in the final stretch.”
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Tom Pidcock finished 18 seconds behind the winner in Stage 3
Coach clarifies Pidcock's comments after stage 3 of the Tour de France
Bogaerts had also heard Pidcock’s comments, but he qualified them somewhat. “Tom had a bit of a setback because he got sick three weeks before the Tour. As a result, he’s a little behind schedule. And the better your fitness, the better you can handle different conditions. Stages 3 and 4 are definitely exceptional days. And maybe the coming days will be, too.”
Pidcock’s Belgian coach spoke of 160 water bottles for 8 riders in Stage 3, plus ice, slushies, and other ways to cool down. “Tom lost 18 seconds; that wasn’t spectacular.” And if he’d been in fifth place going into that final climb, he would have lost almost nothing. But X number of teams were still ahead. Now he was pushed to the limit, and that makes it tough with all those hairpin turns,” Bogaerts said.
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Pidcock and his coach have made up their minds about their Tour de France ambitions
So we shouldn’t make too much of the time lost in the third stage. Still, Bogaerts emphasised that it’s not just a matter of luck that Pidcock, even in stages that suit him well, didn’t keep up with the very best. And so the question is justified: are the ambitions for the Tour de France, as stated this winter, still realistic?
"Tom has a team that believes in him wholeheartedly. They’re behind him, but for Tom and me, it’s pretty clear," said Bogaerts. "We want to finish the Tour—that’s a goal. And above all, we want to come out of it motivated, so we can return next year with appropriate ambitions. He ultimately didn’t have the right preparation for this Tour, so he also needs to rediscover the joy of racing in the Tour."
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Will Pidcock win a stage at the Tour de France?
It all sounds a bit strange, as if Pidcock and Bogaerts are already waving the white flag, even before the Brit has actually pulled away. He’s heading into the sixth stage over the Col d’Aspin and Tourmalet just 1.22 minutes behind Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. And yet: “He wants to see where his limit lies in the general classification and how far he can go, but that’s not really on the table right now.”
In the future, a Tour de France general classification finish would certainly be a dream, but Bogaerts emphasizes that Pidcock would prefer a stage win over a top-ten finish, especially after he already made it to the podium at the 2025 Vuelta a España. “Tom wants to excel in the biggest race of the year—by winning stages and, someday, by competing for the overall classification.”
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A crash in Catalonia put a bit of a damper on Pidcock's Tour ambitions
Crash in Catalonia disrupted Pidcock's Tour de France preparation
Maybe Pidcock will surprise us on day six, and Bogaerts’ comments were too defensive. “He needs to get through the first week well, with the Tourmalet as the real test. Given the interruption in his preparation, our main goal now is to stay in contention during the first week and then see how we can bring something home. I think winning a stage is very important in that regard.”
Because, as Bogaerts emphasized: “Catalonia threw everything off a bit,” said the Belgian, referring to Pidcock’s hard crash into a ravine in March. He suffered a knee injury but returned to racing fairly quickly. “However, we no longer knew where he stood, partly because we couldn’t see here in Catalonia how he measured up against someone like Vingegaard.”
"He was feeling really great, but when you can't do anything for eleven days, that's very unusual. If Tom still manages to finish in the top 5 here in the Tour, that would be quite a surprise."
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
- - Two seconds on a 200m kick says it all. Vingegaard looked glued, but not enough punch yet. Heat management + gels every 30 minutes clearly dialed.andrewf06-07-2026
- - What a statement from Pog! Del Toro’s launch was textbook. You could see UAE-XRG had zero interest in gifting the break any hope today.jennifer1906-07-2026
- - ¿Habrá abanicos con ese viento noroeste? Si se parte el pelotón en los llanos antes de Quillan, adiós a muchos sprinters.patriciaw06-07-2026
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