When Tom Pidcock crossed the finish line of the U23 men’s road race in fourth place after a gruelling ride in torrential rain at the Yorkshire 2019 World Championships, it looked like all his hard work had been for nothing. But then came the surprise decision by the commissaires to disqualify the winner, Nils Eekhoff, which bumped Pidcock up to third.
Pidcock has had a fortnight now to digest it all, so the question is – how does the upcoming star feeling about the race and its revised result now?
‘Third was nice,’ Pidcock told Cyclist ahead of the launch of his new cyclocross team this week. ‘Obviously it’s better than finishing fourth isn’t it? With fourth you just go home, but third you go on the podium and to the press conference. It’s like you’ve been rewarded a bit more.’
Thinking he had missed out on a medal, Pidcock had initially wanted to leave the race circuit but UCI officials, at first without explanation, insisted he stay. ‘I was just mad at first because I thought they’d just be checking the photo finish or something, I just wanted to go.’
When we spoke soon after the podium presentation in Harrogate, Pidcock revealed he didn’t know the full details of why the results had been revised but now, like the rest of us, he has the full story – that Eekhoff had been excluded for illegally drafting behind a team car.
‘The Eekhoff thing, I think anyone in the same circumstance would have done the same thing. The rules aren’t very clear, are they? But I guess you can get disqualified for it. It’s unfortunate, but it wasn’t my decision.’
Yet as pleased as he was with his place on the podium, that wasn’t the best part of the race for the Yorkshire local.
‘It was the highlight of my season for sure. Not because of the result, it was just the best race of the year because of the crowds,’ Pidcock says.
There have been mixed feelings about the hosting of the Worlds Championships among locals and businesses in and around Harrogate – after all, who goes to a bike race to buy a fridge? Regardless, Pidcock noticed an increase in those out on two wheels and thinks cycling in Yorkshire will continue to thrive.
‘There were certainly a lot of people out on bikes that week, more than normal. There are a lot normally plenty of people down the Wharf Valley, but there were a lot that week.
‘The crowds were unbelievable even with the rain, which would hardly have inspired people to head out for a ride, which is fair enough!
‘The Tour de Yorkshire is just getting bigger every year and now with the Worlds I’m sure it will inspire more people to ride bikes.’
Cyclist met Pidcock at the Red Bull Studios in Central London, where later that day Pidcock would present Trinity Racing, his new cyclocross team for the season that starts this weekend. Although perhaps ‘new’ isn’t entirely accurate.
‘It’s a continuation, it’s last year’s team rebranded. Pretty much the same partners, plus a few new ones: Red Bull, Wahoo, Zwift, but with Specialized and Maap continuing,’ explained Pidcock.
Joining the current Cyclocross U23 World and European Champion will be fellow British riders Cameron Mason and Abby-Mae Parkinson. The team takes its name from Trinity Sports Management, which has been involved in Pidcock’s career for a while now.
Photos: Charlie Crowhurst / Red Bull Content Pool
One team for all types of racing
With his stated intention to avoid joining the WorldTour for a while yet, speculation over where Pidcock will ride on the road next season has been rife since Team Wiggins folded.
‘Trinity Racing,’ he announced when asked which trade team he’ll be on for 2020. This came as a surprise but apparently wasn’t so much a secret as simply something that the team’s management hadn’t talked much about yet.
Andrew McQuaid, director of Trinity Sports Management, sat in on our interview and expanded on the team’s intentions to expand to the road scene after the current cyclocross season.
‘We just haven’t announced it [that the team will also race on the road]. Trinity Racing will be Tom for cyclocross and then extending into mountain bike and gravel for next year so that we could do all of that under Trinity Racing’s banner,’ McQuaid explained.
‘With Team Wiggins unfortunately folding and with Tom not wanting to go WorldTour yet, we had to find somewhere for him to ride the road so we’ve extended the team’s involvement to just a small club road team.
‘Six or seven other riders with Tom, and Tom will ride with the national team as well at some events, but it will be a club team.’
Pidcock added, ‘As a club team we can do all the races, the same programme as Wiggins, just not the Tour de Yorkshire or Tour of Britain, those I’ll ride for GB.’
As McQuaid mentioned, the rider’s schedule will go beyond the usual road-cyclocross combination Pidcock has ridden so far.
‘It’s all a bit up for discussion, my programme for next year,’ Pidcock explained. ‘I’m not saying definitely because I don’t have a partner yet, but I’m planning to do the Cape Epic. After that I want to do well at the [cyclocross] nationals and then do some gravel races like Dirty Kanza.’
Were these choices influenced by Education First and their alternative calendar?
‘No, someone else asked me that! It’s good fun but it’s more driven by Specalized but I don’t mind. New challenges keep things from getting tedious.’
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