ANALYSIS | Tom Pidcock channelled his inner Enric Mas to reach the Vuelta a Espana podium

Tom Pidcock has delivered the performance that many doubted he could, standing on the podium of the 2025 Vuelta a España in a style reminiscent of Enric Mas. His career has always been marked by flashes of brilliance rather than volume, but when he wins, he wins big. Now, with a grand tour podium to his name, his future as a general classification rider suddenly looks more convincing. Finally, GC Pidcock has arrived.

Pidcock’s talent has never been in question. In disciplines outside the road, he has been exceptional: Olympic and World Champion in mountain bike, world champion in cyclo-cross, though admittedly never at the same level as Van Aert and Van der Poel. On the road, he owns just 10 victories, yet nearly all are big events: Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race, Brabantse Pijl, and a Tour de France stage. The quality has always been there, even if the tally is modest.

At 26, Pidcock should, by rights, have achieved more on the road. His own ambition explains much of it: he wants to be a stage racer. That obsession, in fact, pushed him out of INEOS after disappointing rides in the Tour, where his lofty salary and supposed GC prospects looked unjustified. In Spain, fans have been quick to criticize Juan Ayuso for the same obsession, though Ayuso, four years younger, already has 16 career wins. Pidcock’s critics sharpened their knives on that very point.

This Vuelta, though, silenced them. Pidcock finished third overall, climbing with the best and securing his first grand tour podium. He matched the breakthrough Enric Mas achieved at 23. The question now: will he follow the same path? Almost certainly, yes. The Tour de France remains the natural obsession. He doesn’t need to believe he can win it outright, but a top five or even a podium isn’t impossible if the conditions align.

Looking at this Vuelta in detail, Pidcock was just over three minutes behind Jonas Vingegaard. True, the course lacked a brutal succession of high mountain stages, and Vingegaard himself was running on fumes after the Tour while managing physical issues. But that doesn’t erase the result. Third is third. If Q36.5 secures an invite to the Tour next year, Pidcock will surely chase GC again.

And yet, there’s a lingering frustration. By pure class, Pidcock has all the makings of a great one-day specialist. The comparison is tempting: Alejandro Valverde, who, driven by Spain’s obsession with stage racing, never became the all-time king of the classics he might have been. Pidcock isn’t at Valverde’s level yet, but if he had devoted himself to one-day races, it’s hard to believe he would have only 10 career road victories at 26. The talent is too big for such a modest return.

For now, though, he deserves credit. He has taken a podium in La Vuelta, closing the gap on Enric Mas, who still has three more to his name. Whether Pidcock continues down the GC path or re-discovers himself as a classics specialist, one thing is certain: he has the quality to make more of his career than the numbers suggest so far.