Michel Wuyts on Tom Pidcock: "They preach regularity, but do not find it"

Tom Pidcock had a strong start to his cyclocross season and took an impressive victory in Namur despite adversity. However since, he's been a shadow of himself in several races, and his inconsistency is point out by Michel Wuyts.

"The proud Grenadiers have become idle shooters. "Ban the fuss about the 'Big Three'. It has been completely exhausted. Van Aert saves the big things for later, Pidcock doesn't feel like it yet either. The British are the vicissitudes themselves," Michel Wuyts told Het Laatste Nieuws. "Win once nicely, lose once in six minutes. You don't improvise crossing. Anyone who does not have enough basics will lose weight and become ill. Strange guys by the way, Tom and his alleged coach Bogaerts. They preach regularity, but do not find it. See Pidcock's amazing raid on the Strade Bianche last year. After that came only a second place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and a world title in mountain biking. In between, a lot of waste. Pidcock is heading towards the image of Team Ineos: changeable, chaotic, often immature. The proud Grenadiers have become idle shooters."

Wuyts analysis goes beyond the cyclocross part of the team and argues that the same has happened on the road. However he is aware that this was because of accidents that have happened within the team as well. 'Successive disasters plagued the team. In June 2019, figurehead Froome broke his femur, hip and elbow. Froome literally fell away. It could be worse: in January 2022, successor Bernal shattered twenty of his bones in a collision in Colombia," he acknowledges. "Bernal fights back hopelessly. In between, the greatest drama took place. In March 2020, Nicolas Portal died after a heart attack. The 40-year-old Portal was considered the most empathetic among the team leaders. Bernal labeled him irreplaceable. In three years, the central axis of Ineos fell apart. The reconstruction is still underway."

He points out positives, but work is underway. Pidcock in the meantime has put a pause in his cyclocross season due to illness. Whilst he didn't fare well in the sandy races of the Christmas block, all the way into Diegem there were strong performances, but from there on that was not the case. Poor starts also harmed his results, such as the crash he suffered in Hulst.