At just 23 years old – he celebrated them on July 30 – Tom Pidcock is not lacking in ambition. As proof: the jack-of-all-trades cyclist has set himself the goal of winning world titles in cyclo-cross, mountain biking and road. Nothing less. Since the French Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who had achieved this hat-trick during the 2014-2015 season, no one has managed such a performance. But not enough to intimidate the young Briton, who even intends to compose his collection of rainbow swimsuits by the end of the calendar year.
The first part of his triptych, the native of Leeds (north of England) validated it at the end of January, with his coronation in cyclo-cross in Fayetteville, in the United States. In the absence of the two other great figures in the discipline, the Belgian Wout Van Aert and the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel – who have shared the last seven editions – Pidcock had crushed the race. Belly on the saddle, right arm stretched forward and legs in the air: he had crossed the finish line imitating Superman. “The first world title was the hardest to win. If I didn’t win it, then…”
Tom Pidcock does it again ? ?Junior CX World Champion ?Under 23 CX World Champion ?Elite CX World Champion… https://t.co/X4TJawPeQU
Sunday August 28, the Briton moves on to Act II of his plan, with the cross-country (XCO) of the mountain bike world championships in Les Gets, in Haute-Savoie. Race director of the queen event, David Moreau predicts a competition “very open”but he recognizes that Tom Pidcock, reigning Olympic champion, is among the favorites. Especially since“He showed that he was very, very fit at the European Championships”, organized the previous week in Munich (Germany). The Briton had won the continental crown by disgusting the competition, taking off in the fifth of the eight laps of the circuit.
“Me, I come out of the Tour”
The fact remains that his most serious rivals were absent in Bavaria: the Swiss Nino Schurter, nine times world champion and 2016 Olympic champion, the Frenchman Titouan Carod or the Romanian Vlad Dascalu who preferred to save himself for the Haute-Savoie deadline, while the Swiss Olympic vice-champion Mathias Flückiger had not taken the start, after the announcement of a positive doping control. Again, nothing to worry about. “They ride mountain bikes all year round. Me, I come out of the Tour. I had to get back to my habits”concedes Pidcock, who had not competed in cross-country for three months.
In recent weeks, the rider from the British team Ineos-Grenadiers had swapped his wide tires for other, thinner ones, adapted to the road, with in particular his first participation in the Grande Boucle, marked by his solo victory at the top. of Alpe d’Huez during the 12e stage, July 14.
Scotsman Chris Hoy, six-time Olympic champion in track cycling, and now ambassador for the International Cycling Union (UCI), had then estimated at the microphone of BeIN Sports that the biggest challenge for the young Englishman – playing only his second season in the professional peloton – was how he was going to combine the different disciplines and train specifically for each individual event. “In recent years, the courses [de VTT cross-country] are much more technical, more compact… The road is a long effort, you get your rhythm while pedaling, you are always in relaunch, always dynamic. It’s totally different”abounds David Moreau.
“A good dose of confidence”
By his own admission, Tom Pidcock retains a weakness for mountain biking, the discipline of his debut. “I think I was born to ride mountain bikes. It sounds silly, but it’s what I’ve been doing since I was little and it’s what I’ve always loved the most”he recalled in May 2021. Since the start of the year, he has won the three cross-countries in which he has participated.
Sunday, the Briton knows that he will leave from afar, as in Bavaria, where he wore bib 36. “My starting position will be similar, in Les Gets. Even if I took the most points possible [avec sa victoire à Munich] », he anticipated. Whatever: “It gives me a good dose of confidence (…). It was the most important. »
Tom Pidcock should return to the bitumen next week, with the Tour of Britain (September 4 to 11). The last straight line before his ultimate goal of the year: the Road World Cup in Wollongong (Australia), on September 25.
Will the treble still be possible? “I would like to do all this in one year, but if I could win all the shirts once, I would be very happy”had already warned the person concerned to Dutch media Sportsat the end of 2020. According to Chris Hoy, Pidcock “has the potential to win almost anything he does”. And the Scot to insist: “If anyone can do it, it’s him. »