‘I haven’t put much thought into this’ – Tom Pidcock starts World Championships without pressure but with plenty of ambition

Despite being one of the favourites on paper, Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) said that he “hasn’t put much thought into” the World Championships road race on Sunday coming off the back of his Vuelta a España podium.

The Vuelta was the Brit’s main late-season goal, and he achieved more than he perhaps even expected, finishing third behind only Jonas Vingegaard and João Almeida.

Two weeks later, Pidcock was about to line up in Kigali as Team GB’s co-leader alongside Oscar Onley for Sunday’s elite men’s road race, on a Classics-style course that should suit him. However, as the 26-year-old explained to the press on Friday, he hasn’t put as much focus on this race as he did to his earlier goals.

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“I haven’t put much thought into this,” he said. “I was just thinking about the Vuelta and not what’s going to come after. I was pretty stressed when I got home cos I wasn’t doing any organising and there were a million things to do, so I didn’t look much beyond it.

“It’s nice to have a one-day hit out,” he added, after often talking about how he had to race more tactically for GC during the Giro.

Though he didn’t win a stage at the Vuelta, Pidcock was clearly on searing form in Spain as he achieved his best Grand Tour result yet, and a big question ahead of the road race will be how he recovered for that and how he can maintain that top form.

“I recovered pretty well to be honest. I think I’m actually too fresh, maybe,” he said. “I’ve never finished a Grand Tour in such a good condition. A fairly new thing for me, it’s a tricky balance to make sure I’m recovered but to make sure I’m also training as well.”

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He had a rest after finishing the Vuelta in Madrid, and then arrived in Kigali on Tuesday morning.

“I took four or five days easy and then got back into training. I did seven hours last week one day, and just some intensity,” he said of his training since the Vuelta.

“The travel gets in the way a little bit, but I did some good training yesterday. People are talking about the altitude or smog, but it’s quite tough here actually, tough conditions.”

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Despite not putting too much focus on this race, Pidcock was clear that he was here to race for the win. With many comparing the course to a race like Amstel Gold Race, a race the Brit has won once and narrowly lost once, he was certainly among the top few favourites alongside the likes of Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel for Sunday.

“We’re here to do well. I wouldn’t travel all the way to Africa if I didn’t think that I could perform,” Pidcock said. “We’ll see. I mean, it’s not like we’re not here to race to win. That’s evident. Worlds is always a day where anything could happen. We’re not making too many expectations now.”

Two-pronged attack with Onley

The Scot finished fourth overall at the Tour de France this summer, so what he may lack in one-day experience, he makes up for with climbing prowess, which isn’t to be sniffed at on a course that takes in some 6,000 metres of climbing.

“Oscar has also shown his strength this year. It will be a hard, attritional race, it’s nice to have someone like him in the team, someone I’m pretty sure will be solid on Sunday,” Pidcock said of his teammate.

For Onley, there is certainly less outside expectation on his shoulders, but he’s not shying away from potentially going for the win.

“I go to every race believing I can win or do a really good result, and Sunday is no different,” the Scottish rider said. “The overall goal of the team is to get a medal, whether that’s myself, Tom, Joe [Blackmore] or anyone. It would be really nice to get a medal for myself and it would cap off a really good year. I think as long as I do a race I’m proud of, then I’ll be satisfied.”

Onley praised the chance to learn from Pidcock, who is three years his senior, and hoped that having multiple cards to play would be a benefit to the British team.

“It’s quite exciting with both of us being in contention on Sunday, because it’s really important when you can play off different teammates, it makes a big difference.It’s not something I get to experience much across the year, and I’m really excited for it. The stronger your team is, even if you have four or five leaders, the chances of you winning or getting a better result is better than if you’re the sole leader.”

Pidcock and Onley will be joined by Joe Blackmore, Bjorn Koerdt, James Knox, Fred Wright, Oliver Knight and Mark Donovan on Sunday.

With two world titles already in the bag for Team GB this week, the men’s road race will be about chasing more medals, and making use of the power in their line-up.

“An extra year of racing and training in the legs, I’ve shown that I can compete on these bigger days,” Onley concluded. “I’m confident I’m stronger than last year, and I think with the team we have we can be in contention all day.”

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