INEOS Grenadiers mechanic on Tom Pidcock's bike position: "Tom isn't very advanced. In fact, he is the least advanced of our riders"
Cycling
At first glance Tom Pidcock's position seems quite advanced. Almost like a mountain biker. But when bici.pro asked INEOS Grenadiers' long-time mechanic Matteo Cornacchione, they learnt it's not quite as advanced as it may have seemed. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
"In reality, Tom isn't very advanced. In fact, he is the least advanced of our riders. He has 9 centimeters of saddle setback. I don't think he inherited anything specific from mountain biking, for this aspect he refers a lot to Kurt Bogaerts, his coach and mentor whom he follows in everything," the Italian mechanic said in an interview with the Italian news outlet. "For example, he uses the normal seat post and when I say normal I mean the rear one and not the straight one. If anything, he inherited the attention to tire pressures from the crossers and bikers."
How does that show? "He works a lot at it and has a crazy sensitivity. He really does a lot of testing with the tyres. For example, before Strade Bianche he made us make several changes and we talk about adjustments of increasing or decreasing by 0.1-0.2 bar. Sometimes we ask him: 'Tom, what do you intend to achieve by so little adjusting?'. But he definitely feels it."
Additionally, Pidcock likes to experiment with the cranks. "He's doing some tests with the shorter ones. Both on the road and in time trial tests, he tested the 165 millimeters. In the time trial he even used the 160. At Tirreno, for example, he had a particular setup with the 68-tooth chainring and 160mm cranks. The chainring was almost larger than the crank! But it's nice, because Pidcock is very technical and he wants to try everything."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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