Tom Pidcock is one of cycling’s very best in modern times but his palmarès is often overshadowed by generation-marking riders such as Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel. Pidcock is most widely compared to the latter, a fellow multi-disciplinary specialist, and in recent words he has commented on the similarities between the two.Pidcock, part of Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team this season after moving away from INEOS Grenadiers, has returned to his winning ways with a more fitting calendar and has found consistency once again. He has recently won the queen stage and finished second at the Arctic Race of Norway, but simultaneously also won an MTB World Cup in Pal Arinsal, Andorra. At this point in time, the Briton continues to master his way through the various disciplines of the sport.
“He’s far ahead of me, Mathieu has things I would like to have. There are certain similarities between us,” Pidcock said in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. “I think we both like to ride based on feeling, a bit more playfully. I don’t just look at numbers. We like the same things, like nice cars. Of course, we are also very different athletes. I’m smaller and lighter, much more of a climber. Mathieu belongs to the great Classics specialists.”
Van der Poel is now an eight-time monument winner, former World Champion and multiple Tour de France stage winner amongst other triumphs in his palmarès, so virtually any rider who is compared to him is put far below. But Pidcock is one of the very few who can realistically be in this discussion.
At age 26 he is already a former World and European Mountain Bike Champion and is also a double Olympic Champion, a degree of success the Dutchman is attempting to achieve but struggling quite a lot with. “Mathieu may not be in his best period on the mountain bike, but if he sets his mind to something, you know that he will eventually succeed. Normally speaking, he belongs to the world’s best and that makes me want to race him”.
The two could battle next month at the XCO World Championships but this will not happen as the Briton is set to race the Vuelta a España, whilst van der Poel’s expectations into the race are mixed after the lack of a good run-up.
“Mathieu is much better at getting big wins on the road than I am. He has not yet won monuments in different disciplines like I have, but on the road he’s the best. For me, the road is the most beautiful.”
However, Pidcock hopes to still be able to evolve and be able to take advantage of the four years he’s got more than his two big cyclocross-road rivals: “Sometimes I feel old, but riders like Mathieu and Wout van Aert had achieved a lot at this age. I hope I’m now entering that phase of my career and can win the biggest races, just like them.”