“At the Tour, I want to make a bigger impression" - Tom Pidcock believes preparation will be key for GC challenge

Tom Pidcock attempted to mount a Grand Tour general classification challenge for the first time in his career last summer at the Tour de France. Narrowly missing out on the top-10, the INEOS Grenadiers man believes preparation will be key for an improved performance.

“At the Tour, I want to make a bigger impression than last year and to do that I need to prepare better," explains the 24-year-old Brit in conversation with GCN and Eurosport. "I also want to come out with my biggest personal focus at the Olympics with the mountain bike so if I want to come out in a good place at the Tour then I need to go in, in a good place."

Starting the road season solidly at the Volta ao Algarve, Pidcock placed 6th overall and took a very impressive 3rd on the final summit finish. "It was a hard stage, and it was full gas all day. I had a pretty good kick at the end there but it wasn’t quite enough. Dani and Remco were just a bit stronger but I think that I can be satisfied with that. It’s always difficult with these first races. I’m happy,” he reflected in the immediate aftermath.

One of the biggest obstacles to Pidcock being considered a serious Grand Tour challenger is seemingly his lack of an elite-level time-trial but that is something he has been working very hard on in recent weeks and months.

“I’m pretty happy with the time trial. I wasn’t expecting miracles but it wasn’t terrible. A minute and a half to Remco isn’t too bad," he reflects of his efforts against the clock in the Algarve. "It was a better time trial for me than last year at this race and it’s a discipline that takes a lot of time and energy.”