Tom Pidcock proves himself "one of the most complete riders on the planet" with breakthrough Vuelta podium say experts: "This opens a completely different door"

Tom Pidcock’s third place at the 2025 Vuelta a Espana has been hailed as a landmark moment for in the career of the double Olympic champion, with pundits insisting the Yorkshireman’s breakthrough podium marks a new stage in his already illustrious career.

The 26-year-old survived the punishing ascent of Bola del Mundo on Stage 20 to secure a top-three finish behind overall winner Jonas Vingegaard and Joao Almeida. For Pidcock, riding in Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team colours, it was confirmation that his potential as a Grand Tour contender has finally been realised after years of debate over whether he could stretch his multi-discipline brilliance across three weeks.

Former pro and TNT Sports expert Matt Stephens argued that Pidcock’s versatility now puts him in rare company in men’s cycling.

“He is now moving into the realm of one of the most complete riders on the planet,” Stephens said on TNT Sports' The Breakaway. “Cross, mountain biking, road, Grand Tours, not just the Classics. There are very few riders when you think about it now, who have won the cross Worlds, the mountain bike Worlds, the mountain bike Olympics, and has podiumed on a Grand Tour. Nobody. I can tell you that now. Nobody. That’s where Tom Pidcock is right now.”

Stephens added that Pidcock’s achievement went beyond statistics, pointing to the visible emotion in the moments after the stage. “He normally has something to say, doesn’t he? But clearly, for him to say that that’s his biggest ride of his career — at the moment he said it, his voice cracked. It just shows you how much this means to him.”

For Stephens, the turning point has been the environment around Pidcock, which has allowed him to pursue the general classification on his own terms rather than bending to outside pressure.

“A lot of the pressure has come externally where people have said, ‘Tom Pidcock needs to go for GC in the Grand Tours.’ It’s been happening for several years, and he’s not coped,” he explained. “But finally he’s in a place, in a team, in an environment where he can still be Tom Pidcock, but actually he’s been given the freedom to race in the way that he wants to race without that external pressure.”

Adam Blythe, also speaking on The Breakaway, suggested Pidcock’s result should silence lingering questions about whether his contract value has matched his results.

“When you look at Tom’s palmarès, it is solid. It’s one of the best in the world, as we’ve said. But I think everyone’s criticism of Tom was for how much money he’s always been paid for his results that he’s delivered compared to other riders,” Blythe said. “But Tom’s results go further than cycling. It’s the big race like the Olympics, World Championships. When he goes big, he goes big.”

For Blythe, the 2025 Vuelta represents a crucial step forward. “This is a stepping stone in not just his cycling career, but within this world. It’s huge for him, and I think he’s learnt a lot. He did the Giro this year, learnt for this race — and everyone at the Giro was almost criticising him, going, ‘what’s he doing? Why didn’t he go for stages?’ I was one of the biggest ones to do it. But even through that, he doesn’t know he’s going to ride it. Every day, he was just on this learning period for this, and it’s worked for him. I’m super chuffed for him.”

Looking ahead, Blythe believes the podium opens up new horizons. “He’s 26, he’s three years younger than Jonas [Vingegaard]. He’s not got it all in front of him, but he’s got a lot of his career still in front of him, and this opens a completely different door. He can now pick and choose… importantly, he knows that he can do it.”

For all the success Pidcock has already achieved — double Olympic mountain bike gold, world titles across disciplines, victories at Amstel Gold and Strade Bianche — his Vuelta podium represents something different. It signals not just versatility, but endurance and resilience over three weeks at the very highest level.

As Stephens put it: “He’s one of the most decorated riders on the planet. One of the most versatile, but this was something completely different for him.”