"I'm going to go full for the GC" – But can Tom Pidcock challenge Vingegaard, Almeida & Ayuso at Vuelta a Espana 2025?

After a summer built on restraint rather than intensity, Tom Pidcock lines up at the 2025 Vuelta a Espana with the clearest declaration of intent we’ve heard yet from the Brit in a Grand Tour: he's going full for the general classification.

For a rider whose career has so far defied easy categorisation — Olympic mountain bike gold medallist, Strade Bianche winner, Tour de France stage conqueror — Pidcock’s Grand Tour trajectory has remained, until now, somewhat tentative. But speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the start in Turin, the 26-year-old made no secret of his ambitions. "I'm going to go full for the GC," Pidcock stated. "We're going to do the best in the GC as possible. Shorter climbs, so we'll see."

It’s a shift in tone that will no doubt raise eyebrows, particularly given Pidcock’s historically cautious approach to three-week racing. After finishing 16th at the Giro d’Italia earlier this year — a result shaped by a punishing spring calendar — Pidcock had a Tour de France free summer, instead focusing on rest and a carefully measured build-up.

The difference, he says, is already tangible. “I’ve had a pretty nice summer,” he said. “Not so many races — Norway most recently — so I feel really refreshed actually, a lot more refreshed than I was a year ago. Hopefully we’ll see some difference from me.”

Indeed, his most recent appearance at the Arctic Race of Norway served up a timely reminder of his finishing power, edging Stage 3 by a whisker and securing second overall. While hardly a litmus test for Grand Tour readiness, it nonetheless underlined a freshness and sharpness he sorely lacked in the Giro.

Contrast that with a brutal spring that saw Pidcock target the major one-day races — including Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège — before grinding through the Giro on weary legs, eventually finishing nearly 45 minutes behind winner Simon Yates. “I was tired in the Giro, to be honest,” Pidcock reflected. “It was not really the best preparation for a Grand Tour. I hope this time it will be different.”

That difference could be crucial. The 2025 Vuelta route, beginning August 23 in Turin and concluding September 14 in Madrid, is loaded with explosive terrain that may suit Pidcock more than the endless high-altitude slogs of the Giro or Tour. Shorter climbs and technical finales play to the Yorkshireman’s punchy skillset, while his mountain bike background makes him well-suited to the constant rhythm changes La Vuelta is known for.

And while the red jersey contenders include the usual heavyweights — Jonas Vingegaard, Juan Ayuso, João Almeida, and former teammate Egan Bernal — Pidcock enters the race with little pressure and, for once, a build-up tailored around GC aspirations rather than one-day targets or dual-discipline commitments. His recent reclaiming of the European MTB title shows the form is there — but more importantly, so is the intent.

Stage 1, a 186.1km route from Turin to Novara, is no straightforward prologue. A Category 3 climb and a draggy finale mean time gaps may emerge early. “There’s another shortish climb at the finish,” Pidcock said. “I think it will already be a test, and normally I take a bit of time to enjoy the races, so we’ll see. But of course it’s another opportunity to let the legs do the talking.”

This year, those legs have been allowed to rest. Now the challenge is to see if they can carry Pidcock not just into the top 10 — but into the conversation among GC elites. Only time will tell if the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team leader is up to that challenge.