“I had some difficult weeks” - Tom Pidcock allays injury concerns with pre-Tour de France statement in Andorra

Tom Pidcock needed proof that a disrupted Tour de France build-up had not taken the edge off his climbing form. At the Andorra MoraBanc Classica, he delivered it with his arms in the air on Coll de la Botella.

The British rider won the second edition of the Andorran one-day race after surviving a late Sepp Kuss attack and beating Carlos Verona to the line, giving Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team a timely victory after a difficult few weeks for their leader.

Pidcock had already been forced out of the Volta a Catalunya earlier this season after a crash left him with injuries to his right knee and wrist. More recently, a mild viral infection during the team’s altitude camp in Sierra Nevada cost him training days and led Q36.5 to remove the Tour de Suisse from his programme, with Andorra added as a replacement if his health allowed.

Sunday’s victory landed differently from a routine pre-Tour hit-out. On a 125km course packed with more than 4,000 metres of climbing, heat, gravel and a final mountain finish, Pidcock came through one of the sharpest possible tests before July. "It was not an easy one, hard-fought that's for sure," Pidcock said at the finish. "But it's nice to be able to get your hands in the air, as difficult as it was."

The win also gave Pidcock the chance to draw a line under a build-up that had become more complicated than planned. "I had some difficult weeks, but it's nice to be coming out the other side," he added. "It's always a hard time of year, we've been pushing it every bit, and it came back to bite us in terms of training and I needed to make the extra step, so it's nice to that some of it's working."

Pidcock’s win was built long before the final sprint. Q36.5 controlled the key phase of the race, first through Mark Donovan and Damien Howson, then through Chris Harper, who emerged as one of the strongest riders on the final climb.

The early break had been reduced before the race reached Coll de la Botella, with Julien Bernard later trying to anticipate the favourites by attacking before the final ascent. Q36.5 gradually brought the race back under control, and the pressure began to remove several major names from contention.

Einer Rubio, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ibon Ruiz and Derek Gee were among those distanced before the final selection. Gee’s challenge faded further after a bike change, while Jorgen Nordhagen and Ivan Sosa were also absent when the race narrowed at the front.

Harper briefly went clear himself, reaching Bernard before the earlier attacker was dropped. Simon Carr, Pidcock, Kuss, Verona and Ben Tulett were all involved as the decisive group formed, but the final kilometres became increasingly tactical once Kuss made his move.

The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider opened a gap inside the final kilometres, forcing Q36.5 to respond again. Harper chased, Verona followed, and Pidcock worked his way back into contention before closing the last part of the gap himself.

Verona then attacked in the closing metres, but Pidcock followed immediately and had the stronger finish, sprinting to victory at the top of Coll de la Botella.

Pidcock made clear afterwards that the result belonged to the group around him as much as the final sprint. "Everyone was super strong today, everyone committed 100 per cent," he said of his team, adding: "To finish it off for them is really nice. Thank you to them, they committed, they rode all day, everyone did their part, so it's a nice feeling."

For Pidcock, the timing is the most important part. His Tour de Suisse absence had left Andorra as a late adjustment rather than a planned centrepiece of his Tour preparation, but the response was clear. After a crash, illness, missed racing and a changed programme, he still had enough to follow Kuss, answer Verona and finish off one of the hardest one-day races before the Tour de France.