“It’s so difficult in the group behind when you know the race has gone” - Tom Pidcock frustrated as Pogacar's attack brings psychological collapse to Strade Bianche chase

The decisive moment of Strade Bianche came more than 70 kilometres from the finish when Tadej Pogacar launched another devastating long-range attack on the Monte Sante Marie sector. From that moment on, the race behind him became something very different.

For Tom Pidcock, who spent much of the finale among the chasing group of favourites, the difficulty was not only physical.

Once Pogacar was clear on the Tuscan gravel, the dynamic of the race behind shifted immediately.

“I think you can feel a bit of sombreness here with everyone,” Pidcock said afterwards in an interview with TNT Sports. “With UAE like that, there’s not much you can do.”

Pidcock had hoped to remain among the riders contesting the podium behind Pogacar’s solo effort, but the British rider revealed that two mechanical incidents during the key phase of the race significantly disrupted his momentum.

“My chain fell off twice on Sante Marie,” he explained. “That really killed my momentum.”

The problems occurred on the same gravel sector where Pogacar delivered his decisive acceleration, making the timing particularly costly. “I don’t think it changed much apart from taking a bit more out of me,” Pidcock added. “I wouldn’t have beaten Tadej anyway.”

As the gap to Pogacar stretched across the rolling gravel roads of Tuscany, the chasing group found itself in a familiar situation. Riders were still racing hard, but the sense that the victory was already decided quickly settled over the race.

“It’s so difficult in the group behind when you know the race has gone,” Pidcock said. “You can always tell yourself that this is the race now, but that’s not really how it is when one guy is already in front.”

At one stage, the gap appeared potentially manageable, but the hesitation in the group behind made the chase increasingly complicated. “At one point, yeah,” Pidcock said when asked whether he believed Pogacar could still be caught. “But that’s a pretty big gap when people are already thinking about the final.”

For Pidcock, who has built a strong record at Strade Bianche in recent years, the race once again illustrated the difficulty of responding when Pogacar attacks from distance.

Once the Slovenian had forced the decisive split on Monte Sante Marie, the battle for victory effectively disappeared from the race behind. The remaining favourites were left to fight for the remaining podium positions as Pogacar rode alone towards Siena.

By the time the riders reached the steep climb of the Via Santa Caterina and the finish in the Piazza del Campo, Pogacar’s advantage was secure. Behind him, the race had continued, but as Pidcock’s reaction suggested, the outcome had already felt inevitable long before the finish line.