Tom Pidcock is unlikely to do cyclocross during the winter and after a long and very successful season on the road, the Briton is not yet on full holiday mode into the winter. He is currently in South Africa but is racing the week-long Nedbank Gravel Burn, mostly on easy mode, but on stage 5 he took the stage seriously and went on to take the victory.Most certainly, the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team rider is looking to start his 2026 season a little later than this year, and with no team change or any meaningful move on his agenda, he can take it easy and have a clear mind on what will follow in the next few months. Last year by this time he was still an INEOS Grenadiers rider, and only in December did he make the move to the Swiss team – which has, this winter, reinforced itself with plenty new World Tour riders.
After ending his season with a double-header weekend where he rode to Top10 results at both Il Lombardia, and then quite far away at the Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands, Pidcock has taken it easy. However not fully. Some of the best Mountain Bikers in the world are in South Africa this week racing the seven-day long Nedbank Gravel Burn race, and Pidcock is amongst them. But he has taken it easy on multiple days, not looking to build fatigue or chase a result, but instead have fun and enjoy the southern hemisphere summer.
In a race headlined by riders such as Matthew Beers, Andri Frischknecht and well known road pros such as Simon Pellaud, Peter Stetina and Lawrence Naesen, Pidcock decided to test his legs on stage 5. Finishing atop the Swaershoek Pass after 137 kilometers, an easier stage with a difficult finish, it looked like a fitting day The result: A victory.
“It looked to me to be the easiest stage, with only one climb to do. That’s why I thought I would have a go,” Pidcock said in a post-race interview. May it may be a one-off! “Everyone has been saying to me, ‘you should try to win a stage’, but the riding is tough. I have been suffering all year. I don’t want to suffer here,” he joked.