"After last year you can no longer say that Pidcock is still part of the 'Big 3'" - Experts analyse winter prospects of cyclocross' biggest stars
Cyclocross
The 2024/25 cyclocross is underway. As of yet though, the three biggest stars of the discipline, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock are yet to return to the field with the exact date their presence will be felt even less clear.
On the latest episode of Eurosport's Kop over Kop podcast, the winter prospects of the so-called cyclocross 'Big 3' were touched upon. The question is though, is there even a 'Big 3' of cyclocross anymore? "Is Pidcock still in that list?" asks Sander Valentijn aloud to his colleagues. "There was actually only one big one last year," replies Jeroen Vanbelleghem, noting Van der Poel's all-conquering dominance last winter.
As mentioned, Pidcock's lofty reputation in particular is questioned by the experts. The 2022 World Championship winner took victory just once last winter in his eight appearances, and heads to this year's cyclocross calendar clouded in controversy after a recent public drama with the INEOS Grenadiers following his controversial deselection from the team's Il Lombardia lineup.
"Nobody knows with Pidcock. If the wind comes from the left, he might ride an entire season. If the wind comes from the right, he doesn't ride at all. Things are difficult with his team, but I think he still decides for himself what he feels like doing and what he's going to do," assesses ex-pro Thijs van Amerongen. "After last year you can no longer say that Pidcock is still part of it (the Big 3 ed.)."
The star power of the Brit would be something very beneficial to the sport of cyclocross this winter though, Vanbelleghem insists, especially given the uncertainty regarding Van der Poel and Van Aert's race programmes. "I don't think Van der Poel and his team know yet, so we can't know either. I suspect he doesn't feel like it at all now, but will ride two or three races for the World Championship in December. With Van Aert I foresee ten or twelve races and with Pidcock I really don't know," he concludes. "I hope he will really do a lot of cross-country racing, because he is an asset to the sport."
Pidcock's big problem - His GC ambition for TDF. WVA tried GC for some time and quickly dropped it as infeasible. Pidcock is in a team that values only GC and has filled his brain with TDF dreams. Its completely not feasible with CX, MTB, Classics. Even G dropped classics for GC
Setting aside the recent dramas surrounding Pidcock, the great risk to his career remains the same as it was at the outset, being that he ends up being a jack of all trades yet master of none. I don't think there's any shame being 3rd wheel behind Wout and MVDP in cyclocross. They're generational talents in that arena. It's reminiscent of Andy Murray being overshadowed by Federer and Nadal (even down to their Olympic gold medals helping to mitigate their inferior records). But as much as his mountain biking and cyclocross achievements are notable, the road is and will remain the stage on which he'll be judged, and quite rightly. Time is ticking and he needs to decide now where he will focus on the road, be it GC or one day/stage racing. It's delusional to think he can maximise his potential in all disciplines. The only man who appears able to achieve that is Pog, and he's already one of the greatest riders in history. To attempt to emulate him in that regard is a fool's errand.
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- Covid racing was great! You could actually hear the cyclist suffering.
Front24215-04-2025 - I'm pretty sure that it was 2011, when he as on the Saxo Bank team, and the bikes in question are the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL3 and SL4.
santiagobenites15-04-2025 - It looks like either year, they were sponsored by Specialized. Good to know.acem8214-04-2025
- Alcohol is never an excuse, on the contrary, it's an aggravating factor.
maria2024202414-04-2025 - In the race they talk constantly to each other; it seems as if they're teammates. Obviously, when the crucial moment arrive, they attack each other to win, but it's evident the respect, sympathy, and friendship between them.maria2024202414-04-2025
- True, sorryMistermaumau14-04-2025
- Wout Van Aert won a Monument (San Remo, 2020), so he wouldn't be in that article. He might be in an article of riders like Sagan who were truly exceptional and won fewer monuments that expected. As for these two, they've won the last 7 monuments, 10 of the last 12, 15 of the last 20. Merckx and de Vlaeminck weren't that dominant in their era. It really is special the way these two race with such admiration for each other along the way. Rivals, not enemies.RidesHills14-04-2025
- So drunk Belgians will always target MvDP because they are drunk. That can't be right. If drunk Belgians target all other cyclist equally, then it may be reasonable.
KerisVroom14-04-2025 - Nobody cares about this nonsense.Front24214-04-2025
- Thanks! Hadn’t heard of that word so would have been hard to search very specifically without your input.Mistermaumau14-04-2025