Britain’s great hope Tom Pidcock has impressed at his new Q36.5 team this season, winning the Saudi Tour, becoming European mountain bike champion and showing strongly in the Giro d’Italia and Arctic Race of Norway.
He has not scored wins on Alpe d’Huez level, as he did at the Tour de France in 2022 for Ineos Grenadiers, and many see this race in Spain as his big chance to make a serious impact in the overall general classification.
The 26-year-old has talked in the past about believing he has the physiology to win over three weeks – a quality most riders do not have – and his team boss Doug Ryder says he is “at the perfect age to try to challenge his dream and see if he can become a Grand Tour contender”.
“There are plenty of stages with profiles that could suit a rider like me, and there’s even a stage in Andorra, quite close to where I live,” said Pidcock before this race.
“We learned from the Giro [d’Italia] and had more time for thorough preparation this time, with an altitude camp and the Arctic Race of Norway. I’m curious to see what I can do in the general classification.”
But winning one or more of the Vuelta stages will be impactful in itself, as his team seemingly sign rider after rider during cycling’s ‘transfer window’ to help support their overall leader., external
If Vingegaard has the strongest track record among the line-up, demon descender Pidcock still holds the mantle for being the undisputed fastest going downhill after that charge to victory on the 2022 Tour de France.