After racing a complete of 422 kilometres and ending in sixth place at each Il Lombardia in Italy on Saturday and the UCI Gravel World Championships within the Netherlands on Sunday, Nice Britain’s Tom Pidcock confronted a flurry of questions on his determination to compete in each occasions on the identical weekend. In response, he merely mentioned, “Why not?”
“I like doing issues which might be completely different. Additionally, Pinarello got here out with a brand new gravel bike, and it was good that I may race on it this 12 months. I attempted to do my greatest right here as we speak,” he mentioned after greater than 4 and a half hours within the saddle on the elite males’s 180.9km race at Gravel Worlds in Maastricht.
“In fact, it was at all times going to be troublesome. We centered extra on yesterday [Il Lombardia]. So, yeah, that is why. It is not ideally suited, however who cares?”
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Pidcock arrived on the UCI Gravel World Championships held in Limburg on Sunday to symbolize Nice Britain after having competed within the last Monument of the season at Il Lombardia for his commerce workforce, Q36.5 Professional Biking Group, the day earlier than in Bergamo.
The Monument was 241km, and an almost six-hour race, the place he completed in sixth place, 4:16 behind the winner and reigning world champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Group Emirates-XRG). He then started his journey to the Netherlands later that night and was thought-about one of many favourites to win in his debut on the UCI Gravel Worlds.
On the morning of the race, Pidcock admitted to Cyclingnews and some choose media initially space that he had not previewed the course. And though he had not particularly educated or raced for gravel this 12 months, he was keen to check Pinarello’s new gravel bike.
They are saying hindsight is 20/20, and whereas Pidcock defended his determination to compete in each Il Lombardia and UCI Gravel Worlds, he did say the 181km gravel race felt considerably chaotic and that he was underprepared for it.
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“The gridding was chaos, the individuals in all places, the feedzones in all places, it is simply … additionally, I did not know something in regards to the race or the course of something. It was chaos all day,” he mentioned in a post-race interview.
“Yeah, it’s positively completely different [than Il Lombardia] with fixed positioning within the first hour or two, which was a very powerful, I feel, after which it is a bit extra in regards to the legs.”
He could not have ended up within the medals, however he had a powerful presence all through the race, ending in a bunch 1:41 behind solo winner Florian Vermeersch (Belgium).
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“My legs did not really feel dangerous, truly, I am unable to complain an excessive amount of. I felt alright to be sincere,” he mentioned.
Pidcock mentioned he does not remorse racing the Gravel Worlds and that he ended up having fun with the occasion and the course. “It was good enjoyable, truly. I am glad I did it. In fact, I used to be wholly unprepared and suffered from that, however no, it was positively good enjoyable.”
The reigning two-time mountain bike cross-country Olympic Champion and former mountain bike cross-country and cyclocross World Champion says he’ll now take pleasure in a well-deserved vacation earlier than turning his consideration to the cyclocross season.
Tom Pidcock on the UCI Gravel World Championships 2025 (Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)
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