It's 10th on the line for @tompidcock after a frantic run-in at #LBL. The Brit and @Eganbernal came home in a much reduced group behind lone winner Pogacar (UAE) after a tough day in the Ardennes 👊
Tom Pidcock disappointed with lack of top result at Liège: "This week I broke all kinds of records during training"
CyclingMonday, 22 April 2024 at 10:52
Ahead of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tom Pidcock hit record numbers in training but kept it a secret. He hoped to go for the win this Sunday, but was left with a 10th spot that in no way fulfilled his ambitions in what was the last of the spring classics.
The INEOS Grenadiers rider's race was not the luckiest simultaneously. A big crash split the race with 95 kilometers to go and although he was in the front part of the split, he punctured shortly after and was forced to begin an unnecessary chase. Together with Mauri Vansevenant he managed to work his way back through the peloton, but was annoyed to find out the group he had attacked from returned with the help of the convoy quite a lot.
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“I had to make a huge effort there. I just heard that other riders were able to return behind the car. That's frustrating," the Briton admitted in a post-race interview. "I went very deep there, cutting off my own legs. That was a shame. Because I didn't say too much about it before this race, but this week I broke all kinds of records during training. I went really well.”
The efforts he made in this part of the race ended up being key for his result, as he no longer had the legs to match attacks when they began at the Côte de la Redoute. In fact, a Top10 in itself was quite unlikely, and only made possible as he collaborated with among others Mathieu van der Poel to return to the chasing group in the final kilometers.
He made it to a tenth spot on the road, but even in that sprint he was put in a bad spot: “The sprint was very hectic. I wasn't even really sprinting, I was boxed in. I had to find my way. Am I satisfied with the shape? The legs are good, I know that. It's frustrating, but that's how it is.” His calendar for the spring on the roads ends here, although he may soon take on some MTB events in anticipation to the Olympic Games.
On Egan Bernal, who rode an aggressive race but finished far behind in the group, Pidcock commented on: “It's so nice to see him racing like this again. He has had to go through more than I can imagine. It was very nice that he was there. Who knows what might have been possible if it had gone smoothly. We could have played two cards.”
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- And your point is what exactly?vappaxbipmv22-12-2024
- MVDP dominates this sport even more than Pogaçar dominates road racing. Also he can beat Tadej on the road quite regularly, the opposite is unlikely.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- If you listen to team radios you'll hear each DS telling their riders to ride faster, fight their way to the front, and all occupy the same 8 places.Sweep22-12-2024
- You're talking about a sport where equipment and clothing is measured in grams.Sweep22-12-2024
- “During a TT, I am basically blind”. That was his quote after crashing into the barriers in a TT. The problem isn’t the UCI, radios or air bags. The problem is the riders and their teams.JoeyB22-12-2024
- I think you overestimate scientific knowledge and for sure the spreading of it. There are huge numbers of people in similar situations, if there were an easy solution somebody would be making big money out of it. Nerve pain can have many complex origins or be due to complex combinations of reasons. Even if you discover a reason there is not always a solution. Migraines haven’t been solved either. I have had lower back/hip nerve pains on and off for over 30 years, no kind of doctor has ever found a way to reduce, prevent or solve the problem. It may just be that some people are born with nerves that are too short or get twisted out of position during certain movements.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- Amazing ride by her and very promising for her future. On a side note, it’s a bit worrying all these wins riders have after emotional moments in their lives, someone will come up with emotional doping at some point. Maybe give them fake news just before a big race to get hormones pumping.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- I doubt he will have the energy to do that if he continues to do leadout for Phillipsenabstractengineer22-12-2024
- I know several people who’ve tried contacting sport airbag manufacturers and none of them ever got a reply. Might be hard to organise anything with such attitudes.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- It's the BBC. Who cares outside of little Britain.leodis22-12-2024