"My best opportunity so far in my career" - Tom Pidcock wants to add road world title to complete rainbow jersey set
Cycling
Tom Pidcock is one of the leading candidates to win the World Championships men's elite road race this Sunday in Montréal, Canada. If he does so, he will also become the first ever male reigning road and mountain bike World Champion.
This weekend means a lot for Pidcock who finds himself in an unexpected position towards the men's elite road race. Whereas before, Tadej Pogacar's presence overshadowed the chances of most riders; his absence leads to an openness that favours riders such as the witty Briton.
"It definitely suits me with the length of climbs," Pidcock said in an interview, as reported by the Olympics' website. Second at Milano-Sanremo this spring behind only the current World Champion, Pidcock knows what its like to fight for the victory at the end of long and hilly races where the pressure factor is as high as it could be.
During his time at INEOS, Pidcock's few victories were all of a notable level: Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race and an Alpe d'Huez summit finish were part of his five-win tally. Off-road, he has won Olympic MTB titles and a world title in cyclocross.
But a world title on the road is still eluding him. "Regardless of everything else, becoming road world champion would be something that would be truly amazing in my career. It's going to be so hard to win".
Double World title for Pidcock?
Less than one month ago, Pidcock became World Champion in Mountain Biking. The XCO discipline is no stranger to him, a two-time Olympic Champion by now; but the ease in transition between disciplines remains something very few can achieve.
Mathieu van der Poel, for example, has once again struggled with the transition, and was nowhere near the rainbow jersey that the Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team obtained.
Now this Sunday, Pidcock can make history by holding both jerseys at the same time.
"I think this is my best opportunity so far in my career, that's for sure. Having said that, I think the depth is so deep [that] my name's [not] still on the podium yet. I think it's quite an open race and... it's my best shot so far."
Read also
Pidcock looking to bring Great Britain back to the top
The last time Great Britain won the men's elite road race world title was back in 2011, with Mark Cavendish taking the victory in Copenhagen - in a bunch sprint. Before, only Tom Simpson managed to do it in 1965. A country with so much tradition in the sport only has two names to have worn this very jersey, whilst Pidcock could become the third.
"I think I'm very aware of the British history in cycling. And also the Tour de France success that we've had. It's not normal, shall we say".
"It's not to be taken for granted... so that's why it's a World Championship; and that's one of the most important races of the year."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- As much as I admire and even revere Wout, the less I know about his backside the better.MidnightRider06-11-2026
- Ok, Walt 🤣... Vingegaard would be lucky to get on the poduim. He would not beat Seixas or Del Toro, let alone TP. Then there are the Americans...BD06-11-2026
- So, for starters. Cycling is a saturated, static/dying sport in traditional lands, it will not have resurgences like eg running occasionally does because of several obstacular (yes, I know that’s not a word but don’t make me point out the obvious at your expense) factors. Obviously, like almost everything involving money, there is a desire/need/advantage to growth and that can only come from (developing or just testing) new markets. For me, the WC is the obvious and best choice for several reasons, it comes at the end of the season so is less critical season risk wise, it is not a “pro” team race but nation based which makes integration of uncommon participation more natural. It is a vehicle for redistribution (one of a very limited number of available mechanisms to develop new markers fairly) that the fixed calendar doesn’t allow and it helps make budgets fairer over the long run (moving the whole circus to everywhere evens out everyone’s budget as opposed to having everyone always come to the same location.Jumpyjohn06-11-2026
- Sad that a more refreshing article like this, which could generate discussion in a number of directions, gets completely ignored for the importance of debating the level of superiority of one rider into every single last detail, including a majority of totally hypothetical ones. People complain there is no news in the off season and it’s boring but don’t realise how boring it is to review the same old discussion over and over again, several times a day. In fact, you’d almost think this was a rider fan website. Instead of complaining about the FREE (as long as you pay attention to data use if not unlimited coz this site consumes almost as much for loading Youtube) content, the presence of cv of authors (for the missed obvious reason that it makes it easier to insert extra advertising without changing formats), the lack of quality/checking and depth of articles, why not also think about the content, quality and variety of posts that everyone can contribute to? The platform becomes irrelevant when discussion is interesting.Jumpyjohn06-11-2026
- UAE Team Emirates and Pogačar will officially unveil their objectives at the team’s media day, which will take place on December 18 in Benidorm, Spain. New information from the UAE Team: Exceptional recovery remains the cornerstone of success for the Slovenian cannibal-Pogi, whose sporting manager, Matxin, believes he will be even better in 2027 than he has been over the past three seasons.PogiSloFans06-11-2026
- Yeh, but he didn't and RE beat Pog & Del T 👍
leedorney06-11-2026 - Just my opinionleedorney06-11-2026
- Great win.However will the world champions jersey be simply a domestic for the season which will some what tarnish the jersey. I hope he is given free rein to try and win some races.paultryan200206-11-2026
- Gretsky wow how old are you lol. Classy sportman though.🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hope it is a good as the one they made on Mark Cavendish.paultryan200206-11-2026
- Literally the perfect RedBull athlete.anonymouscyclist06-11-2026
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