Tom Pidcock looks forward to «racing in front of fans in a great atmosphere»; Photo: SWpix/Thomas Maheux
Tom Pidcock says he will try to challenge race favorite Wut van Aert for the overall prize at this year's Tour of Britain, but most of all he is 'trying to have some fun' after a grueling summer in which he 'learned a lot' about myself.
Pidcock, 24, will be among the favorites for the eight-day race — Britain's premier men's multi-day race — starting at Altrincham on Sunday. But he's not putting much pressure on himself since the summer of his first general classification at the Tour de France before heading straight to Glasgow for the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, where he took gold and bronze in cross-country. and short track respectively.
Since then, Pidcock has managed to take a short break before returning home to Andorra to compete in the UCI World Cup in Pal-Arinsal earlier this week, where he finished third. And he admits that his legs are probably not quite where they need to be.
Pidcock finished third last week' UCI World Cup competitions in Pal-Arinsal. Photo: Getty Images/Piotr Staron
«I'm not in the best shape, but I really need a rest as I went full throttle from the Tour [de France] straight to the World Championships in Glasgow,» he explained to Telegraph Sport as he sat down on a flight to Manchester on Friday evening. «But I'm not in a bad position.»
Jumbo Wisma's Van Aert, who edged out teammate Pidcock Ethan Hayter in the overall standings by just six seconds in 2021, is a big favorite, especially with five of the first six stages potentially culminating in group or shortened sprints to two hilly days over the following a weekend in Gloucestershire and Wales to determine the overall classification.
«It's not the best route they could have come up with in my opinion,» Pidcock said of the race, which starts in Greater Manchester, then heads to North Wales, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, East Anglia and then back through England to the final.< /p>
“Monday's stage at Wrexham is only 110km long with a short climb close to the finish line, so it could be quite a fun and fast day. But yeah, it's not ideal for me to have so many sprints. This is quite consistent with the characteristics of [Van Aert], especially considering the bonus seconds. This is not a race where you climb alpine climbs, so the gap in time will be small.”
He added, “I will do my best. I always want to win but I'll just try to enjoy riding with my mates and see what we can get out of it. I'm sure the atmosphere will be great. It's always great to race in front of the fans.»
Pidcock, who leads a six-man Ineos Grenadiers team that includes fellow Yorkshiremen Connor Swift and Ben Turner, may not be confident about his future at the race , but he is increasingly confident that he wants to aim for the general classification in the biggest stage races. in the world.
The Tour de France this year was his first as a co-leader. And while he fell behind to finish 13th overall, nearly 48 minutes behind winner Jonas Wingegaard, he insists it only strengthened his determination to one day come back and compete for the yellow jersey.
On the Red Blog Bull Immediately after the Tour, Pidcock described it as «the toughest sporting event in the world» and admitted that he «had mental problems and lacked endurance», which was out of character for him. But he said he hasn't lost faith in becoming a contender and is «more motivated than ever to compete in the general classification in future Tours.»
This will most likely not happen before 2024 of the year. Pidcock will defend his Olympic mountain bike title in Paris next summer.
«This year's tour taught me a lot,» he reflected. “Participating in the grand tour at the GC is a very thankless task, given the effort that you put in. But, in the end, it brings the most excitement.
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