Tom Pidcock was set to check his climbing legs on stage 4 of the Volta a Catalunya however although the large summit end at Vallter 2000 was scrapped from the route the Briton performed an lively function all through the day.
The Pinarello Q36.5 rider picked up bonus seconds 18km into the stage, then 18km from the end, and on the end line itself, as he even combined it within the bunch dash and got here away with third place on stage 4.
In consequence, he leapfrogged one of many massive pre-race favourites, Remco Evenepoel (Purple Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) into second place general behind race chief and sprinter Dorian Godon, who will fall away when the mountains do lastly begin.
Article continues beneath
Chances are you’ll like
Pidcock was crushed by Evenepoel to the day’s first intermediate dash, which carried bonuses of three, 2, and 1 seconds for the primary three throughout the road. Nevertheless, he charged away from a splitting peloton to take the complete three seconds on the closing intermediate dash, earlier than serving to himself to 4 extra because of his third-place end.
It was a complete haul of 9 seconds, to Evenepoel’s three, which sees him rise from third to second place on the expense of the Belgian by a single second, with fellow contender Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) an extra 10 seconds again.
„I really feel higher right now,“ mentioned Pidcock on Eurosport, within the context of his ongoing restoration from Saturday’s Milan-San Remo podium. „However right now would not matter actually does it?
„A number of bonus seconds… I do not assume that is going to make an excessive amount of distinction on this race.“
Nonetheless, there was sufficient of an incentive to go after them within the first place, suggesting Pidcock had larger hopes than merely recovering and coaching throughout this race, which can belatedly hit the mountains on the following two days.
He was not, nevertheless, drawn right into a speculative GC raid when Evenepoel’s teammate Florian Lipowitz and French climber Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) jumped throughout to him following the second intermediate dash, declining the invitation to push on.
As for the end, a bunch dash was not Pidcock’s typical fare however but once more it was not a conventional flat-track end. Pidcock was properly positioned on the quick kicker that preceded the technical closing few hundred metres, bagging the wheel of double stage winner Godon and driving it via to 3rd place.
„To be trustworthy, I most likely ought to have executed extra analysis on VeloViewer of how the ultimate was, as a result of it got here so quick after that climb,“ Pidcock mentioned. „However nah, that is alright, third, that is good – these guys are quick, I am not that quick. It is good.
„It was an enormous headwind down the large street. The fellows did a very good job conserving me up there,“ he added. „With 3k to go I went again a bit as a result of it is fairly onerous while you’re nearer the entrance, then i simply dedicated up the climb, received on Godon’s wheel and yeah… it is alright.“
