“It was entirely Tom’s own choice” - Ian Stannard on Tom Pidcock skipping the cobbled Classics

Having taken eighth place at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, fourth at Strade Bianche and eleventh at Milano-Sanremo already this season, Tom Pidcock looked set for a strong Spring Classics campaign. However, the British rider will not be taking part in any of the cobbled Classics this season, as he is set to skip both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix.

Pidcock is choosing instead to focus on Itzulia Basque Country and the Ardennes Classics next month. INEOS Grenadiers sports director Ian Stannard said in an interview with In de Leiderstrui that “it was entirely Tom’s own choice to skip the Flemish classics this year. He just chose to do the things he wanted to do. I also suspect that he thrives better on paved and high-altitude climbs than on cobblestone climbs”.

In Pidcock’s absence, several other riders are set to be given opportunities in the upcoming races, with the Flemish ‘Holy Week’ currently upon us ahead of the Ronde van Vlaanderen at the end of next week.

On which riders could make the step up into a leadership role within the team, Stannard said “our team has many young, strong riders who also have good credentials. They might not be the top favourites, but they are certainly formidable outsiders. If everything goes well, they definitely have a chance. This applies to the more experienced guys in the team too. Especially Ben Turner and Connor Swift, but also Magnus Sheffield are important trump cards”.