"It was my best first cross" - Tom Pidcock happy with first cyclocross outing

Tom Pidcock had an interesting first race in this cyclocross season. Unlike Mathieu van der Poel who hit the ground running, the Briton had a very modest start, but made his way up throughout the race to come home in second place, his best ever start he believes.

“Second place is good, I'm happy. It was my best first cross. I don't know why, but it was good,. I had to find my way a bit during the first two or three laps. Slowly but surely I came to the front," he said in a post-race interview. Whilst it wouldn't be a surprise due to his lack of recent racing, he rode the first couple of laps outside the Top10. However, behind van der Poel, the gaps did not expand as much and he managed to overtake several riders until he made contact with the chasing group not too far from the finale.

Then in the final lap he put in a dig in the two ascents and managed to get a gap to Eli Iserbyt and Lars van der Haar, then crossing the line in second place. The Briton has shown form and should already be a big victory contender tomorrow in Namur, where van der Poel will be absent: “I think so, I always ride well there. I love that cross. Hopefully after today I'll be in a good place and I can ride well tomorrow.”

“But it's late in the season. As I said before the race, I want to focus on the road season. I'm here and doing a few races, for myself and for the fans. I'm going to enjoy it, but the World Championships is not free. It is one hundred percent certain that I will not ride the World Championships this year," he concludes. Nevertheless, his pursuit of victories throughout the upcoming weeks is certainly viable, taking into consideration that his technique can still improve slightly as he gets the racing rhythm.