Tom Pidcock opts out of cobbled classics, focuses on Ardennes and Olympic Games MTB and road race combo

Tom Pidcock is having many choices in hand, but the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together. The Briton announced yesterday his reduced cyclocross schedule which does not include the World Championships, and now it is close to confirmed that he will also pass on the Flanders classics in the spring, focusing elsewhere.

“The intention is for Tom to participate in both mountain biking and road racing in Paris," Pidcock's coach Kurt Bogaerts told Het Nieuwsblad. “His ambition is Olympic gold again. The road ride is a little more complicated, but it's a good thing that the mountain biking is already over. The explosiveness of that discipline can come in handy in the road race.” This comes as virtual certainty that the plan for INEOS Grenadiers is to have the Briton race both events at the Olympic Games and aim high for both.

This will come after the Tour de France, where it is possible that Pidcock will aim for the overall classification, after testing himself this season. Bogaerts has recently said that this was a plan, however it is not easy to see how he will prepare for this goal whilst also racing and preparing for the MTB Olympics, which will certainly mean he will do a few races throughout the year. Nevertheless, in the summer the pieces relatively fit, whilst in the spring Pidcock will focus on the Ardennes - he finished second at Liège-Bastogne-Liége this spring.

“Even though that is not yet 100 percent certain. I think we are heading in the direction of the Ardennes classics with Tom," Bogaerts tells, revealing that he will not be participating in the cobbled classics. “If you participate in all Flemish races, you are limited in terms of races that you can contest. If you want to do more than take part in a stage race like the Volta ao Algarve and, for example, compete in Paris-Nice, then you have to start cutting back on your program."