"What is he like on the 18th day, on a mountain, after riding GC for 17 days?" - Tom Pidcock urged to 'ride GC all the way to Rome' by Geraint Thomas & Luke Rowe

Tom Pidcock has been quietly going about his business over the course of the first 10 stages of the 2025 Giro d'Italia. Having come close to the stage win a couple of times, Pidcock sits 16th in the GC, 3:41 down after 10 days of racing.

Analysing the performance of their former teammate, Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe assessed Pidcock's Giro d'Italia so far on the latest episode of the Watts Occurring podcast. "It was obviously a big goal for him, going for the stage and for the GC," Rowe begins, reflecting on the chaos of the 'mini Strade Bianche' stage 9 that Pidcock was among the pre-stage favourites, before being struck by bad luck.

"He crashes, loses a bit of time and is currently 16th in the GC. What does he do now?" Rowe asked his fellow Welshman and former Giro d'Italia runner-up Thomas.

"GC wise, just battling every day, trying to come back - it's a tough ask isn't it," Thomas admits, casting doubt on the prospect of Pidcock getting back into contention at the top of the standings.

"There's obviously a lot of talk about Tom wanting to ride GC. Now he's got his own team, you know, where he can do what he wants. I think he should just ride GC all the way to Rome. To the death," Rowe counters. "Because he's never done it. What is he like on the 18th day, on a mountain, after riding GC for 17 days? We don't know."

Riding for the general classification and riding to win stages can also go hand in hand as Thomas explains. "And by doing that, I think he can still win a stage," adds the former Tour de France winner in conclusion. "Just keep plugging on isn't it, just see how deep you can go."