No stopping Tom Pidcock! Brit stars again on AlUla Tour queen stage to likely secure GC victory
Cycling
Tom Pidcock has taken the victory on the queen stage of the 2025 AlUla Tour, more than likely securing the overall GC triumph in the process. It is a second stage win in four days for the former INEOS Grenadiers star, starting life at the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team in style.
With the stage and more than likely the GC of the race, all about the final climb, there was always little hope for the breakaway on stage 4. Nevertheless, eight riders got themselves up the road early, including regular attackers of the 2025 AlUla Tour Jens Reynders and Alexandre Vinokurov. At 30km to go, with the final climb looming, just 5 remained in the break, but their advantage was dropping below the one minute mark. Just before the final climb began, the break were swallowed up by the peloton with 10.5km to go.
Thanks in part due to a lack of teammates around him, race leader Tom Pidcock took the pace-setting into his own hands on the climb, immediately distancing all but Rainer Kepplinger, Alan Hatherly and Eddie Dunbar. When the Q36.5 accelerated again at 9km to go though, all his rivals were gapped as Pidcock sailed clear solo. At the top of the climb, Pidcock was 25 seconds clear, taking 3 bonus seconds for his effort in the GC as well.
With a plateau following the climb, it wasn't victory just yet for Pidcock. At 5km to go though, the Brit was still 26 seconds clear of a chase group including Dunbar, Hatherly, Kepplinger and Johannes Kulset. The chasers were working well together though, and into the final 2km, the gap was cut to 17 seconds. There was no catching Pidcock though and the double Olympic gold medallist held on to take victory ahead of Hatherly in 2nd and Kepplinger 3rd.
Read also
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Sometimes I really think that things get lost in translation. Every little detail of a riders season, preparation, and racing tactics is carefully calculated to provide optimum performance. Of course, how one feels on the bike is something that needs to be added to the overall equation as well.
santiagobenites09-03-2025 - what? The exception does not invalidate the rule: you, in the vast majority of situations, are calculated and guided in detail by your sporting director, little or no-initiative of your own. It is not offensive at all, it is simply your style.
maria2024202409-03-2025 - We are trully blessed to have two such high class acts competing with each other at this time in our sport.Cyclingsbestfan09-03-2025
- agreed you said it better than I did. it wasn’t some charitable sporting act. tadej had already basically closed the gapmij09-03-2025
- Very humble of him to apologize to Tom and Ben.
KerisVroom09-03-2025 - Good luck Bradley. I'm glad you are in a better place. The 2012 tour was fantastic for us. We were there at Bonneval to watch you getting focused for the time trial. You sealed the overall of the tour on that stage. We set out on the long drive home to Scotland later tha day in a very happy mood. Great memories!Cyclingsbestfan09-03-2025
- He attacked Pogi after he saw him crashed and then Connor Swift stopped for quit sometime. He slow when he can't take some more time and Pogi blitztering his pace like a mad man to catch Swift then drop him after and that's the time he realized he will NOT beat Pogi in all races even he crashed.
James2631809-03-2025 - He already is the GOAT. Merckx rode decades ago when the sport was far less professional and the opposition weaker. You might as well say Djokovic is approaching Rod Laver or Messi is getting near to Stanley Matthews. If a sport advances and you are at the top, you are the GOAT.Renz09-03-2025
- Excellent point about when it’s too late to respond. I was watching the ‘23 Flanders race again, and the break, the bridge, and Mads Peterson all did the right thing. Not enough, but still, the attempt was the thing. I love watching Pogacar race, but I am really hoping for more of that kind of early hard attack in the coming months.RidesHills09-03-2025
- Pure class and nice for him to wait. After Tadej shared some liquids earlier. And besides Tadej took out that gap pretty instantly. No offense to Pidcock but he sat up at the top of a climb with the bridge over was obvious. And this is meant as no offense.mij09-03-2025