Grand Tour win a 'realistic' possibility for Tom Pidcock according to coach: "For Tom it is a matter of learning to ride uphill"
Cycling
Can INEOS Grenadiers turn Tom Pidcock into a viable Grand Tour contender? It's a question that seems to split the opinion of cycling fans but according to the Brit's coach, Kurt Bogaerts it is definitely a realistic goal.
“I think this is realistic. It's really only this year that we've started to emphasize the longer climbs," Bogaerts explains of the INEOS Grenadiers talent's Grand Tour prospects in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad. "You can see that he has taken great steps in this regard. For example, he pushed for longer this year in Tirreno-Adriatico, where he finished ninth in the final classification. In the last mountain stage he finished fifth and achieved very good values."
"For Tom it is a matter of learning to ride uphill, how to tackle longer efforts, and 'pace' the slope," Bogaerts continues, admitting that there is still plenty of work to be done before the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are threatened by Pidcock over three weeks. "That will help him if he ever goes for a Grand Tour. But that's not something you build in one day. That is a path you take throughout your career.”
Still holding ambitions in cyclocross and on the mountain bike though, does Pidcock's versatility hold him back when it comes to Grand Tours? “That is the beautiful but at the same time complicated thing about Tom, that he is so versatile,” Bogaerts outlines. “Vingegaard chooses a certain path, which is very successful for him. But I don't see that route working directly for Tom. I don't rule that out either, but that is something you have to decide for yourself.”
Pidcock will return to the scene of arguably his greatest road success (Alpe d'Huez stage win ed.) later this summer when he tackles the Tour de France. After just missing out on a top-10 last finish year, does Pidcock have a future as a Grand Tour challenger? Let us know your thoughts!
It's not impossible - Geraint Thomas took a long time to mature into a GT winner and if there's a team that can help Pidcock get there, it's Ineos. That being said, I feel he's more likely to end up as a Romain Bardet or a Rigoberto Uran - a stage hunter and a rider you can never quite count out, but not one to back for wins in the biggest races.
Uran has been on the podium for 3 GTs with none being the easier Vuelta. So he's been right there. I'd like to think Tom has a higher ceiling than Uran, although lots of people never reach their ceiling
A rider who has not yet finished the top 10 in a GT. In the third week, he drops like a stone. He just does not have the recovery to win.
The fact that he's there even focusing on single day events lasting 1-3hrs much of the year shows he's got potential. Look at Wiggins' results in grand tours when he was Tom's age...Froome too
All depends who turns up on the day. Sometimes you can be lucky and have a relatively easy Giro or Vuelta and that’s without considering that basically anyone can crash out.
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