“It might have been the best of my life” - Tom Pidcock's time trial performance puts him firmly in top ten of general classification
CyclingWednesday, 22 July 2026 at 09:59
Tom Pidcock is edging closer to completing the best Tour de France of his career. The Briton from Pinarello-Q36.5 used the stage 16 time trial to cement his place in the top ten of the general classification and keep another major goal intact: taking a stage win before Paris.
The 26-year-old finished the TT 2:07 down on Remco Evenepoel, a result that lifted him to eighth overall after Florian Lipowitz crashed. With only five stages remaining, Pidcock holds a buffer of 9:52 over Jordan Jegat in ninth, so he can almost touch his first top ten in La Grande Boucle.
The Briton, however, is keeping a lid on expectations, as he made clear in his post-stage comments. “Barring anything major, a top ten is reasonable. I think I’m far enough down to try and get into some breakaways.”
For the Q36.5 rider, combining both goals would be the ideal scenario. “A top ten would be fantastic for me and for the team, but, obviously, I also want to try to win a stage.”
Pidcock: “That might have been my best time trial”
Although he has never been a standout against the clock, Pidcock surprised with a very solid ride in the Tour’s lone individual time trial. The Briton averaged 45.464 km/h and delivered one of the best TTs of his professional career.
“I don’t know how I ended up there, but I know that at the top of the climb I set the best time of everyone who had gone before.”
Pidcock admitted he lost time on the descent, where he chose not to take risks. “I don’t know if I emptied myself afterwards. I also went down slowly. It was a really terrifying descent with those walls.” Even so, he was very satisfied with his performance. “That might have been the best time trial I’ve ever done.”
With the general classification all but on track, the Olympic mountain bike champion will keep looking for a chance to raise his arms before the Tour ends. Pidcock acknowledges that he still struggles to match the best climbers on the big summit finishes.
Tom Pidcock in the Tour de France time trial.
Pidcock still dreams of a stage win
“I don’t have the level I had at last year’s Vuelta. On these finishes I always end up losing a couple of minutes.” He therefore sees breakaways as his best shot at a win. “A break is a good way to move up. I think I’m feeling stronger every day.”
The Briton also explained that, despite the heavy fatigue from the first two weeks, he’s still finding very good sensations on the bike. After spending three straight days in breakaways, the rest day let him fully reset. “It was probably the easiest rest day I’ve ever had.”
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He even said he felt at a very high physical level during the time trial. “While I was riding I felt incredibly strong. If the climb had lasted twenty minutes, I probably would have set my best twenty-minute power on a TT bike.”
With the top ten virtually secured and several mountain stages still to come, Pidcock heads into the Tour’s finale determined to remain a protagonist. The Briton wants to complete the best Grande Boucle of his career with a stage win that caps a very solid performance in his debut with the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Cool story bro, love your work. 😘
Andrew22-07-2026 - I’ll take my tongue out my cheek for the next few comments.Andrew22-07-2026
- Evanapoel is certainly on a high. Stage 18 is going to be interesting.Cyclingsbestfan22-07-2026
- Or he could go to UAE and develop there, but I am a fan of UAE and Pogi so my view is biased. Pogi would be his good mentor, and Seixas could take over in 2030, when Pogi retires, after winning TdF 9X. :))mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales22-07-2026
- I always know what you're thinkng. I also know what your twin brother, frieder3, is thinking. Oh you poor souls, I pity both of you. You should both eat fatty fish salmon, for omega-3s, and blueberries for antioxidants. They do wonders :))mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales22-07-2026
- I agree with your general complaint but in this case you have no idea, details fail. Could just as well have been a fan who wanted to ask an autograph, got scared when he crashed into them so rode off. Also, a little silly to call everyone scumbags, some are just completely ignorant or absent-minded and other times we riders are actually also at fault or provoking other users into dangerous manoeuvres. The way some road racers ride it’s no wonder people start hating us. That said, when I last visited the Tour, it was. Tudor van that almost got a group of cycling spectators killed with an overtaking manoeuvre on the way home. You should then remember that stories like THAT have almost ZERO chance of media attention so in the end all that happens is we are left with an extreme biais on reality. To compound, much of the driving in the Tour is unnecessarily dangerous towards spectators and much of the spectating is unnecessarily dangerous towards itself. Conclusion, almost the majority of the population could fall under your definition of scumbag.Jumpyjohn22-07-2026
- Pretty sure Ineos fans are confined to a very specific subset of a another subset.Jumpyjohn22-07-2026
- Do you also wonder about Rwanda? When was the last time Pog was TT WC?Jumpyjohn22-07-2026
- Talk about BS spewing from the mouth - the BS yellow jersey goes to you Duchenne Pogi Fan Boy. I love how you know what everyone is thinking, or at least think you know what they are thinking.Andrew22-07-2026
- UAE need not worry, no balls Remco has already given up.abstractengineer22-07-2026
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