"Tom will be in the mix for the win" - Q36.5 confident Pidcock can challenge Evenepoel & Pogacar at Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Runner-up at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2023, Tom Pidcock is leading the charge of the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team this Sunday. Having already put in solid performances in the Ardennes with a 9th at the Amstel Gold Race and 3rd at La Fleche Wallonne, hopes are high that the Brit could claim the first Monument win of his career.

“We had some bad luck in the Amstel Gold Race as most of the team was involved in that big crash,” recalls the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team sports director Michael Albasini, in a pre-race press release to the team's official website. “Wednesday, we saw already what good teamwork can do. If we ride like that this Sunday, Tom will be in the mix for the win. You need a bit of luck, but we also have the quality in this team to go for a great result. He already has a tenth and a second place in this race, so it suits him well.”

The main challengers for Pidcock are likely to once again be the world champion Tadej Pogacar and the Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel. Although both have dominated Liege-Bastogne-Liege over recent years, Albasini has seen enough in recent weeks to believe his team leader has a chance.

“We saw in Amstel Gold Race that the long-range attack we know from Tadej Pogacar didn’t work. Therefore Flèche saw a more traditional final,” he says, noting the changing strategy of the UAE leader. “We don’t know what the scenario will be on Sunday. We are prepared for all of them, whether it’s a long move or whether it comes down to La Roche aux Faucons or a sprint in Liège. We did a good recon on Thursday. Positioning before the climbs is key in the second half of the race so you don’t lose too much energy. It will be an interesting race as always.”

And for Albasini, himself a runner-up at Liege-Bastogne-Liege back in 2016, it's a welcome return to one of his favourite races. “Liège-Bastogne-Liège is always around Easter. As a kid I used to watch it at my grandparents’ home on Easter Sundays, “ the 44-year-old Swiss concludes. “It comes with warm memories. Since I started watching it and later when I started racing it, it’s been a favourite. It’s such an epic race. Almost like a journey as the other big Monuments are. There is so much history here. It builds up from Liège to Bastogne and then becomes really intense on the leg back to Liège.”