Tom Pidcock "can certainly be among the favorites for the Tour in the future" - Alberto Contador

A few weeks ago Tom Pidcock said he knew that his victory at Alpe D'Huez last year in the Tour de France had not been a one-on-one against the best, but in a breakaway, and he made it clear that his goal in the future is to win the Grand Boucle.

Some do not believe that the Briton can achieve that feat. This is not the case of Alberto Contador, who in statements to Eurosport, the television station for which he has worked since his retirement, explained that he believes the Briton has a grand tour in his legs.

That said, the Spaniard believes that for Pidcock to be able to win a grand tour he has to completely change his training plan and focus on it one hundred percent: "Tom is a rider with exceptional qualities, but he has to make a decision to win a Grand Tour".

"If Pidcock wants to prepare 100 percent for a Grand Tour, I think it's a good idea to put cyclocross and mountain biking aside for two years," explains a Contador who doesn't believe that racing cyclocross and focusing so much on the classics is compatible with winning the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia or the Vuelta a España.

"Pidcock has a better chance if he approaches his preparation differently. He needs to keep developing and we haven't seen him much in big tours yet. This will be an interesting year to draw new conclusions. He has to make a decision based on that. He can certainly be among the favorites for the Tour in the future," continues the 7-time grand tour winner.

Alberto concludes his interview by defining Pidcock as 'superclass': "We are talking about a very young superclass rider. Give him a mountain bike, a cyclocross bike or a road bike and he will ride them all perfectly. He can adapt to different disciplines, from one hour at maximum intensity to long classics and perpetual stages."