Yesterday, Tom Pidcock finished sixth in the Giro di Lombardia, and today the versatile Brit is competing in South Limburg. He’s aiming for a new world title in a different discipline, although his build-up to the World Championship was far from ideal.
Pidcock has already been world champion in cyclocross (2022) and mountain biking (2023). Can he claim a new rainbow jersey today? He will probably have to shake off some fatigue from his legs first, as the Q36.5 Pro Cycling rider raced the Giro di Lombardia just yesterday. After the Italian classic, the Brit flew straight to South Limburg.
A very busy race weekend
In short: ideal preparation for the World Championships is certainly not the case. “Tom already said at the beginning of the year that he absolutely wanted to do the Gravel World Championships,” his coach Kurt Bogaerts told Sporza. “Why? He wants to end the season in an enjoyable way. Offroad races give Tom a good feeling. But they didn’t make it easy for us by changing the location and date of the Gravel Worlds.”
Just before the start of the Gravel Worlds, Pidcock admitted to Sporza that he hadn’t been able to explore the course by bike. “I haven’t scouted the course. I just saw the footage the team made and it looks fast,” he concluded.
After his effort in Lombardia, Pidcock still had to travel from Northern Italy to South Limburg. That trip was made as comfortable as possible by private jet. Did it work? “I feel good, I’m still standing. Only my body hasn’t been able to relax,” he said in front of the L1 camera.
In South Limburg, Pidcock has to face a very strong Belgian lineup on paper – including Tim Wellens, former world champion Gianni Vermeersch, Florian Vermeersch, Quinten Hermans, and Niels Vandeputte – the Dutch favorite Tibor Del Grosso, Matej Mohoric, and Mads Würtz Schmidt.
