"I'm in a really, really good place" - 'Highly motivated' Tom Pidcock sends out statement with vicious uphill victory on stage 2 of AlUla Tour 2025

Tom Pidcock has officially announced himself as a Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team rider. The 25-year-old has stormed to a stunning victory in just his second race day for team following a vicious attack on the final climb of stage 2 at the 2025 AlUla Tour in Saudi Arabia.

On a confusing day that saw the stage momentarily neutralised and subsequently reduced by around 30km because of a poor road surface, the fight for the stage win ended up coming down to a 5km fight on the final climb and in the end, it was Pidcock who proved strongest. After following moves from the likes of UAE duo Rafal Majka and Adria Pericas, Pidcock launched an attack of his own inside the final kilometre, leaving all rivals in his dust with the sheer brutality of his uphill acceleration.

"Today was super important for me. It's a new team, all these great people, and I just wanted to do them proud today. The team rode brilliantly, they had full commitment for me, and I was highly motivated for today," Pidcock said after his victory. "I knew I was in good shape. This year I'm on SRAM and the power meter is different. When you actually look objectively, I'm in a really, really good place, but of course after a winter when you haven't competed against anyone and you've done a lot of efforts on your own, you actually don't know. So, it's nice to get a bit of assurance."

"The first time I thought I'd test the waters a little bit. Today we said we'd just try and win the stage. I felt the wind a little bit so I thought I was just going to wait a bit longer. We got to 500 to go and the road was going down to the left. On the right-hand side, the road was a bit higher, so I thought I'd go to the right and then use the flatter section to attack," he continues. "Before coming here, we said that today is the day to win the race. It's easier to defend than to take time on stage 4, so hopefully there's a bit of a buffer. This race is won on seconds really, so of course it's still all to play for but we're in a strong position."