Pidcock is ‘the most talented rider Great Britain has ever had’ – Blythe
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The Pinarello-Q36.5 star challenged for a stunning stage win on Friday as he stuck with a breakaway group that finished more than seven-and-a-half minutes ahead of a peloton containing all the general classification favourites. Pidcock ultimately finished in third place, and his efforts saw him jump all the way into fourth in the GC standings, just nine seconds behind Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in third.The 26-year-old is now eyeing a remarkable career-first podium finish for the Tour, having already achieved the feat at a Grand Tour once, at La Vuelta last year. But Pidcock’s extraordinary versatility was what left the Breakaway team of Adam Blythe and Matt Stephens singing his praises ahead of a big weekend in the mountains.
In addition to his Vuelta podium, winning four one-day classics and claiming a Tour stage win in 2022, the Brit has become a world champion in cyclo-cross and mountain biking disciplines, and is a back-to-back Olympic gold medallist in the latter.
For Blythe, those feats put him in the pantheon of British cycling greats.
”He is exceptional. He is probably the most talented rider Great Britain has ever had, if I’m honest about it,” Blythe said on The Breakaway.
”I don’t think anyone can do what Tom’s done. I don’t think anyone can replicate it who is English.
”There are other people like [Mathieu] van der Poel, these guys that have tried, and they have not even been able to do the mountain bike side of it.
”The lad is just an extreme talent. He’s amazing to watch. He’s amazing on his bike, bike handling, but just the way he adapts himself.
”Tom’s not really a GC rider. He can do it, and he’s very, very good at it. He proved that in the Vuelta last year. The Tour de France is a different beast, and he’s still trying to do it there.
”I’m sure in his career, he’s got this tick list of things he wants to do, and a Tour de France podium I think is one of them.
”Until he gets it, I don’t think he’s going to give up trying. He’s just an absolute beast of a man.”
‘Even Pogacar’ can’t rival ‘unique’ PidcockStephens pointed out that even the great Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), a four-time Tour de France champion and the current yellow jersey holder, can’t boast the variety of honours that Pidcock has.
”He was the natural successor to [Chris] Froome and [Bradley] Wiggins, really, wasn’t he? But he’s not that sort of rider,” Stephens said.
Highlights: Schmid outsprints Tejada to take Stage 13 as Pidcock makes huge GC gains
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”And he did openly say that he thinks he can win the Tour de France, but then he didn’t really want to. He wanted to do other things.
”He wanted to ride with this liberty, this freedom, this spontaneity that we love so much about him. And that versatility, as Adam was saying, there isn’t a rider like him.
”We’ve talked about it before, but all the wins that you’ve talked about across different disciplines and a Grand Tour podium, there isn’t another rider in male sport that’s ever done that, even Pogacar. There isn’t.
”He is unique. But I think now, as he has matured and he is getting more and more experience, he’s becoming a lot more confident.
”And the way they set about yesterday, because we were saying they can’t do it, you need to focus on stages or focus on the GC, they nearly pulled off both.
Pidcock warns he is ‘getting stronger and stronger’ at Tour de France
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”He’s completely unafraid and he’s going to learn a lot in this next week and a half. It’s very exciting. And I think the team will step up as well.
”They rode really well yesterday for him, but I think it will re-motivate the team a bit more as well. But it’s thrilling to watch.”
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