When questioned if leaving the
INEOS Grenadiers has been a catalyst for his success, Pidcock refuses to publicly trash his former employers. “Watch out, I also won some great races at INEOS Grenadiers, right? Much bigger ones too," he fired back. "Good numbers are one thing, but I’ve mainly become a better rider this past winter. I’m back to being the rider I was in my first years as a pro."
"That’s the result of a good environment with a new nutritionist and a new coach alongside
Kurt Bogaerts. That made a big difference for me. Those are two people who had a big impact. It was a fresh start with fresh motivation, which gives me extra motivation to look at all the details," he continues. "It’s a new challenge, which I grabbed with both hands. That gives me energy. It was very easy to adapt to the team. When I joined the team, I also saw the motivation in all those guys, and a hundred percent dedication to do it my way. That’s very nice to see.”
And as mentioned, things could hardly have gone any better so far. "It was very important for me to start well right away, and I succeeded. I would like to take that with me to the classics. But I also have a kind of 'mindset' that I immediately forget such things and focus on the future and the upcoming races. That is behind me and seems to have happened in the distant past,” he evaluates. "The
Vuelta a Andalucia was a very tough race, with a lot of hills. That was at least a good preparation, with days where you had to deliver a lot of power. The
AlUla Tour was a bit different and less difficult. But on the other hand, it is also a very different effort than in the classics, I know that too. I know now that my form is very good.”
“I mainly want to know how I do on the climbs. That will largely determine my feeling after the Omloop," Pidcock concludes. "If I do well on the hills, then I will definitely be happy. That would be a big improvement compared to last year. Delivering power in the saddle is not my specialty. If I have improved in that, then we have done a good job.”