The terrain in Hulst looked favourable for
Tom Pidcock to fight for the victory, but as he was battling with Mathieu van der Poel in the final lap he suffered a
mechanical issue and abandoned shortly after. He talked about the incident afterwards.
Talking to Het Nieuwsblad following the race, Pidcock said about his mechanical: “I don't know exactly what happened either. I think I hit something, maybe that post or maybe something else. I'm not quite sure. My wheel broke after that. I walked for a while, but it was still far, it was of little use."
Pidcock had a calmer start, and was within the leading group early on in the race. He stood clear with Laurens Sweeck at first, however would be forced to chase the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider later in the race, taking advantage of his descending skills to gain time on the competition. He entered the final lap only seconds behind van der Poel, but he suffered a bent wheel and crashed into the course barriers in a small bank descent.
He jumped over the barriers soon after, far away from the pits, and unconcerned with the UCI points. After the race however, having his off-season in full motion, he took the road bike and road back home together with his brother Joe Pidcock who also competed in the day. “It was planned to ride home with my brother. Today the cross was done early, so we had that chance. I think it's about 60 km home," he concluded.
