Tom Pidcock - "The Olympics transcend cycling, so I definitely want to defend my title"
Mountain Bike
The Gold Medal winner at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Mountain Bike, INEOS Grenadiers' Tom Pidcock has expressed his desire to return off-road at the Paris 2024 games and defend his title.
"I've always wanted to win the World Championship or the Tour de France. But after riding in Tokyo, I know that the Olympics transcend cycling, so I definitely want to defend my title," Pidcock revealed in an interview with Eurosport. "No one cares what event you take gold in, whether it's ping pong or balancing with a ball on your head. A gold medal is a gold medal. And everyone knows you won it."
Since taking Olympic gold, Pidcock has gone from strength to strength, taking the cyclocross world championship title in 2022 and achieving victory atop of Alpe d'Huez in the Tour de France, the 23-year-old has shown his versatility. One thing Pidcock is keen to add to his palmares is another world championship title and with it being a home race this year in Glasgow, the Brit is quietly confident.
"The fact that the World Cup is in Glasgow makes it extra special," says Pidcock. "I stopped cyclocross earlier, so that I could prepare for the spring classics. I have therefore been training since mid-January, which is a lot longer than usual. Mentally I feel tired. After Nové Město I take a short break to build up towards the Tour de France. Although mountain biking helps me to get mentally fresher, I notice that the end is in sight."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
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