Thomas Pidcock donned the Ineos jersey this Sunday, but neither the bike nor the route were the same as in recent weeks.
The 21-year-old British talent, who less than two weeks ago was in the fight for the classics with the elite of the specialty, he has started his new challenge: trying to win an Olympic medal in the mountain bike modality, just like Mathieu van der Poel has planned.
And his start was the brightest: he won the first MTB race this year, the Proffix Swiss Bike.
The idea of Pidcock was to have a first contact with the specialty before the dates of the World Cup arrive. And the Briton did not limit himself to shooting, but starred in a huge display: he attacked in the second lap and increased his lead so much that he reached the finish line with more than three minutes over the second.
“It was a good race, I felt good. It was my first MTB race of the year, so i can’t complain.” We are already eagerly waiting to see how it unfolds in a World Cup in which both he and Van der Poel will face the best specialists in the modality.
In the case of Pidcock, his triumph came eleven days after having played the Walloon Arrow, in which he finished sixth in a brilliant season of classics, con his first professional victory at Flecha Brabançona and places of great merit: 2nd at Amstel, 3rd at Kuurne, 5th at Strade Bianche, 15th at Milan San Remo.
And the feeling that in a star-studded Ineos he has quickly earned the benchmark stripes in one-day races.
All after his irruption in the cycling elite arrived surrounded by expectation. He had not yet made his debut on the road with Ineos, but the 21-year-old’s name was already ringing strongly, and not just because of his long record of victories in the lower categories.
But because Pidcock was in the middle of the cyclocross season fighting with the best of the specialty. He was even able to defeat Mathieu van der Poel in a prestigious event in December. Because Pidcock doesn’t care if it’s mud, road or path. In the last six months he has won in all three modalities. A total cyclist.