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01/21/2024 12:00 | by Tom van der Salm
January 1, 2024: That was the last time we saw Tom Pidcock in action in cyclocross. For the Brit from INEOS Grenadiers there is also the World Cup in Benidorm on Sunday, but then it is already over for this season. The day before the cross on the Costa Blanca, he spoke extensively to the press, including In de tragestrui.
There is a lot of activity around the huge INEOS bus, where Pidcock has popped his head out several times to sign autographs and take photos. A little later he appeared before the press wearing a Red Bull cap, a plaster on his nose and a black eye, as if he had just attacked an Iberian brown bear. What happened, Tom? “I’ll leave that to your imagination, it’s not interesting,” he replies with a grin.
Well, then the question on everyone’s lips: How is the Brit doing after he ended his Belgium election campaign early? ‘It runs fine. I’m healthy again and feel fit on the bike, which is what I’ve been particularly focused on recently. The time around Christmas was strange. I was a little sick after training camp, but ultimately I never felt like I was the best version of myself. So we took some time, which helped. It’s nice to be here in the sun. I’m not very fit, but I still wanted to ride here. The crowds here are great and I’m really looking forward to it, even though I’ve only touched my cross bike once so far.”
“It was annoying to have to say goodbye to the field earlier, but I would have liked to have been able to cross more from the front,” says Pidcock. “But on the other hand, I was also relieved: I was fighting a fight that I couldn’t win. Between the races I couldn’t perform at all. We were doing motopacing training and normally I was doing fifty or sixty kilometers per hour, but now I was only doing forty kilometers per hour. I wasn’t sick, I was just weak.’
The INEOS Grenadiers driver expects a lot of resistance. “Everyone is here at the last training camp before the World Cup, so they will look good.” Mathieu van der Poel has been on a different level so far, simply in a league of his own. “He’s very impressive, I can’t say anything more about him.”
What will he take from this disappointing winter into the coming months and years? “I learned that it doesn’t make me happy if I only take part in competitions because I want to be competitive.” “I can’t pretend that I don’t care, that’s not possible,” he is honest in his conclusion .
Pidcock on road bike and mountain bike plans for 2024
Pidcock also looked ahead to the road season. “I’m starting in the Tour of the Algarve and my program will be largely the same as last year.” I’ll start with the Omloop, then the Italian races, but instead of the cobblestone classics with the Tour of the Basque Country. I will then focus on the Tour de France and the Olympics, with both road racing and mountain biking on the agenda.”
“It will be difficult anyway, but I have no other choice,” concludes Pidcock, who may also face Van der Poel in the discipline. “It’s a different story than on the field because it’s a different discipline.” “He hasn’t really raced mountain bikes in several years so he’s an unknown factor I would say.”
The little all-rounder himself still enjoys the discipline to the fullest. “I really enjoy it and it’s easier to do it without stress.” This is different than in the field, where I really can’t just finish tenth. That’s also the reason why I’m not taking part in the World Cup. When you go there you have to give it your all. My goal was to one day win the World Cup, which I have now achieved. “If I come back it will only be because I want to,” says Pidcock.
Tom van der Salm (Twitter: @TomvanderSalm) | Email: [email protected])
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