Tom Pidcock frustrated to finish behind Ayuso at Tirreno-Adriatico: "The worst feeling to come away from a race with"

Tom Pidcock put in a strong performance on Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico, but it wasn’t enough to match Juan Ayuso, who took the stage win with a 13 second advantage over the Brit. The result leaves Ayuso in the overall race lead, while Pidcock sits sixth in the general classification, 56 seconds behind.

Reflecting on the stage, Pidcock admitted to frustration over how the race unfolded, particularly in the decisive moments against Ayuso.

"It's always difficult to pace yourselves on climbs like this, not going into the red, but I actually think my red zone was a bit higher than I thought," he explained to Cycling Pro Net. "And of course, Ayuso put a lot of pressure on you with all these attacks and accelerations."

The defining moment of the stage came when Ayuso accelerated on a corner, catching Pidcock slightly off guard.

"I was responding to these attacks, and yeah, I just let the wheel go a little bit into this corner because I thought, 'Ah, we’ll go around the corner together,' but he kept on the pedal," Pidcock admitted. "He got a little gap, and then… yeah, I don’t know, I should have closed that gap. I should have done it."

Despite the frustration, Pidcock acknowledged that losing to Ayuso was no embarrassment.

"It’s not a shame, of course, to lose against Juan Ayuso. But it’s better to beat him for sure."

As the race neared the finish, Pidcock also found himself battling Jay Vine for second place.

"At that point, I was just looking for the bonus seconds, to be honest."

While securing second place is still an impressive result, Pidcock was left feeling more frustrated than satisfied.

"No, I’m a bit frustrated with myself, which… you know, is the worst feeling to come away from a race with, actually," he admitted. "But no, I can be happy. Big credit to the guys—they worked super hard today, even before the cameras were on. They committed 100% to me, so I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t finish it off for them."

One of the biggest questions ahead of the stage was whether the climb suited Pidcock’s strengths. The 8km ascent at 8% was expected to be manageable for the Brit, but he now feels his climbing preferences are shifting.

"If you’d asked me last year, I’d have said it would be good for me. But now, I’m preferring more and more steeper climbs," he revealed. "But no, it was okay."