Tom Pidcock "no longer believed in victory, third place was the highest possible today"

A third-place finish was achieved by Tom Pidcock in the Exact Cross Loenhout. In the final moments, the Brit could not compete against Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel.

"It was nice to still be there in the last straight," he said in the post-race interview. He did not have the best start but somehow managed to reach the front and join others. "I immediately shot out of my click pedal. Somehow, though, I was quickly back with the first riders and after the first bridge I was in the wheel of Van Aert and Van der Poel."

Because of the muddy conditions, he was forced to walk on the sixth lap in order to avoid crashing but lost his position in the leading group. "I kept losing a lot of time in the mud after that, I was really stuck a lot today. At the other points in the course, I was good though and could keep up with the rest," said Pidcock.

After briefly falling behind, he managed to reclaim his position but ultimately found himself unable to sustain his momentum as the competition reached its climax, trailing behind as the final lap drew to a close. "It was nice to still be there. However, I no longer believed in victory. Third place was the highest possible today," concluded Pidcock.