After 10 stages of La Vuela 2025, Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) sits just under a minute behind two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike).
It is rarefied air at the sharp end of Grand Tour racing – but can the 26-year-old now “back it up” in the second half of this Vuelta?
Pidcock, who impressively rode to the finish with fellow general classification (GC) hopeful Joao Almeida (UAE Emirates-XRG) on Stage 9 – sparking a spicy disagreement – has long been seen as a possible Grand Tour winner, in large part due to his extraordinary list of achievements in other cycling disciplines, such as his two Olympic gold medals in mountain biking.
“I see both of them [Pidcock and Almeida] as a rival for the GC,” Vingegaard said.
“I have to be focussed on not only Joao Almeida but also Tom Pidcock – he’s riding very strong.”
Pidcock feeling ‘super good’ amid GC tilt
Video credit: TNT Sports
Pidcock didn’t seek to hide his positive feelings as he crossed the line together with Vingegaard and Almida atop Larra Belagua on Tuesday.
“I feel super good,” he said.
“After a performance like I did before the rest day on Sunday, it fills me with confidence, also today felt good, so the more that happens, the better I’ll feel.”
Pidcock, who didn’t race in this year’s Tour de France, did compete at the season-opening Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia.
But it was not quite the success story the Briton had envisaged, going without a stage win and ending 16th on GC.
This time out, however, he feels things are “different”.
“We kind of knew that the Giro was a probability, but I said I don’t want to change my plans, I’d do the same programme with the Classics, the Ardennes and everything,” Pidcock said.
“So I didn’t want to sacrifice any of that, and then obviously the Giro was too much.
“I was not fresh, I was not ready, but here it’s different.”
Speaking ahead of Stage 10, Adam Blythe – in the TNT Sports Breakaway studio – was cautiously optimistic about whether he thinks Pidcock can be a true GC contender.
Blythe said: “We are on Stage 10. We can say he’s proving that he can ride for GC – at the moment.
“I think that’s the main thing, I think we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.
“He said in a statement he did his best 20-minute power on Almeida’s wheel [on Stage 9], so yes that’s his best 20-minute power, but it’s ever. To produce your best 20-minute power day after day after day.
“It’s only going to get harder, and your legs are only going to get tired. Same with everyone else but that’s the art of riding GC.
“These GC riders can do these numbers day in day out. Tom has not been proven – yet [to do that].
“That ride was his best 20 minutes, so it’s no surprise that he’s there [fourth on GC], I just want to see him back it up now.
“I really, really want to get excited about Tom being able to do this and I believe that he can.
“But there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to get too excited about it because I love the way that Tom races in one-dayers as well.
“I don’t want it to become an in-the-middle, I just want him to do one [of the disciplines] really good.”
Alongside Blythe in the TNT studio was Matt Stephens, who made it clear just how deep the riders will have to dig if they are to go close in the GC.
“There’s still a lot of racing to go,” he said.
“This week, just under 20,000 metres of elevation. This is a very, very difficult week.
“We can’t really complain, he [Pidcock] is there, he’s fourth, he’s in a good spot, let’s just hope he can continue with it, it’s as simple as that.”
Ahead of such a brutal second half of the race, the last word to Pidcock, who is under no illusions of what awaits.
“We know now it’s going to be hard from now to the end of the race,” he said. “This week is the hardest week, for sure.
“So a lot of chances and also days that it could all go wrong.
“It’s going to be a big week for the GC I think.”
You can watch it all unfold live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Highlights: Vine victorious as Vingegaard takes back red on Stage 10
Video credit: TNT Sports