"He can jump on any bike and ride it better than anybody else" - Tom Pidcock's multi-discipline abilities a benefit for Tour de France hopes says track legend

Whether it's cyclocross, mountain bike or on the road, Tom Pidcock has taken big wins in all three. With the INEOS Grenadiers intent on making the Brit a Grand Tour contender though, will the 24-year-old have to change tact and focus on one thing to be successful?

According to the British track cycling legend, Ed Clancy, Pidcock's multi-discipline abilities might actually be the recent Amstel Gold Race winner's biggest strength. “I’ve always quite liked the idea of less but better. For the vast majority of people if you want to be very, very good at one thing in life – and this is not just unique to sport – you’ve just got to do the one thing," the three-time Olympic gold medalist tells the Yorkshire Post. “Tom has got bike-handling skills that are never going to leave him, he can jump on any bike and ride it better than anybody else."

Read also

After World Cup XCO win Tom Pidcock steps up Tour de France preparation with ride home from Barcelona airport to Andorra

Because of the naturally gifted ability on the bike that Pidcock has, Clancy believes the usual rules of focusing on one thing don't really apply to the INEOS Grenadiers star. “I don’t really see a conflict in what he’s doing there," he explains, with Pidcock as recently as last week competing on the mountain bike, even though the Tour de France is just a month away.

"If he rides a Tour de France and he’s not completely exhausted the final week and he can get off that and quickly recover, he’s still very young," continues Clancy. "He’ll take to his mountain bike like a duck to water, get his second Olympic gold medal, it sounds like the perfect plan. For me it’s a synergy rather than a conflict of interests.”

Arguably the biggest moment of Pidcock's road career to date, came at the 2022 Tour de France when he took victory atop Alpe d'Huez. On that day though, it was his descending skills that impressed the most. “That descent really put Tom on the map. People forget how strong his legs were on that day," Clancy recalls. “I think that’s what makes him one of the best riders in the world. Look at Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock - arguably the three best all-round bike riders in the world. They’re all great bike handlers having come from cyclo-cross, mountain biking. That’s what makes cycling the best sport in the world for me, it’s so multi-dimensional. Descending, tactical awareness, riding as a team, bike-handling skills, aerodynamics, all rolled into one sport.”

Read also

"I would hate to race against him" - Lance Armstrong expecting Tadej Pogacar to continue dominance at the Tour de France