“I’m a road rider, but I’m better at cross and mountain biking" - Tom Pidcock plans to combine Tour de France and Olympic MTB ambitions in 2024

After winning the gold medal in the Mountain Bike of the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Tom Pidcock is keen to return to the discipline next summer in Paris. As the INEOS Grenadiers aim to compete at the Tour de France however, Pidcock will have to balance both ambitions.

“Next year, I want to go and defend my title at the Olympics, but I also need as many points as I can get,” the 24-year-old Brit says on Red Bull’s Just Ride podcast, referring to the ranking points required to determine Olympic qualification and start order. “But also I’ve got to balance that with the team, and they need me or want me at the Tour, so I have to be there and at my best at the Tour, and I have eight days between the end of the Tour and the Olympics. It’s going to be on the limit, it’s not going to be easy, but I’m giving myself the best chance.”

As Pidcock has previously noted, winning a Grand Tour and especially the Tour de France are without a doubt, long-term goals of his. Given he is still only 24 however, Pidcock feels there is still time to do a wide variety of races before fully dedicating himself to Grand Tour riding.

“I’m a road rider, but I’m better at cross and mountain biking,” he says. “I ride for a road team, so the priority for them - and also me, to be honest - is the road. With mountain biking, for example in the spring when I do the World Cups in April, it’s just nice to get away from the road for a bit. Mountain bike is just a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere. It’s where I can go and just enjoy riding.”

In a prelude to next summer's Olympic Games, Pidcock took part in the test event in Paris this summer. Victor Koretzky was the winner on the day with Pidcock struggling to make a mark in the event and in his opinion, the course leaves a lot to be desired.

“I wasn’t that impressed to be honest,” Pidcock explains. “They’ve just gravelled over a hill. It’s big gravel, slippy - they could have made a more exciting track, because there is a hill there, and they could have made some nice natural features, but I think they’re scared it’s going to rain.”