After five years of trying and five previous participations in Grand Tours, Tom Pidcock recognised that the third place in the Vuelta a España represented the turning point he was looking for in cycling's toughest stage races.
In five previous participations, Pidcock's previous best was 13th in the 2023 Tour de France, although his most memorable moment in earlier Grand Tours undoubtably remains the stage victory on Alpe d'Huez in 2022.
Fourth on the final summit finish of La Bola del Mundo sealed Pidcock's success today in Madrid. Although there were narrow misses on stage wins in finishes like Bilbao - where he had a real chance of victory before the finale was suspended three kilometres from the line - the overall battle remained the big target.
Pidcock recognised that the Bilbao stage, that wasn't, represented a big blow to him psychologically, saying it was both his best and worst day in the Vuelta.
But he managed to bounce back, big time, and his reward this evening will be his first-ever Grand Tour podium and Britain's first in the Vuelta a España since Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) took third in 2020. As Pidcock put it, third "definitely marked a turning point, that's for sure" in his relationship with Grand Tours.
"Before, I didn't enjoy Grand Tours, it was not so much fun. So it [third in Madrid] is definitely something that has changed that perspective and showed me I can achieve what people closest to me believe I can and my team believes I can. It's a relief, almost - a weight off my shoulders."
Most riders when asked will not put their best day and their worst day as one and the same. But for Pidcock, having briefly gapped overall leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) on the Alto del Pike in the Bilbao stage and then joined forces with the Dane to move ahead, the sudden cancellation of the last three kilometres hit him badly on multiple fronts.
"It was my best day, the day when I had my best feelings, but also the worst day because that was a fantastic opportunity. I believed I had a good shot at winning that stage.
"I lost the most that day, mentally I had the most to deal with, so that definitely affected me for the rest of the second week."
Nor has it all been moments of drama and possible wins in Bilbao. Hugh Carthy once told Cyclingnews that racing for GC in Grand Tours can at times - on the flat stages or where there is little GC action - be boring given the constant demand to stay safe and say out of trouble. Pidcock re-qualified that slightly, but he recognised it was part of the requirements and learning curve for a Grand Tour contender as well.
"I wouldn't say boring, but it can be tedious, yeah, and monotonous. You have to play safe, and do the boring option, kind of. It's not as spontaneous and erratic, which is a more enjoyable way to race, so it's kind of [about] racing safe."
Third in Madrid will mark a milestone for Pidcock's team, Q36.5 Pro Cycling, being their first-ever podium finish in a Grand Tour and coming off the back of a wildcard invitation to the race. Once again, the arrival of the Briton in the team has proved critical to their significant upturn in fortunes.
"Doug [Ryder, team owner] just told me that since 2000, we're the only ProConti [non-WorldTour - Ed.] team to stand on the podium in a Grand Tour, so it's a big deal.
"And to be a guest team, the 23rd team in the race, it's a big deal for sure."
Looking ahead, Pidcock said he will go to the UCI Road World Championships before finishing off his season at Giro dell'Emillia (October 4), Tre Valli Varesine (October 7) and Il Lombardia (October 11).
"I think I have good shape, I can hopefully recover from this and my last race will be the Gravel Worlds (October 12 in Limburg) after Lombardia." He didn't yet know, he added, if he will return to cyclocross in the future.
Having made third in the Vuelta a España and in a sense made his peace with Grand Tours as well, Pidcock recognised this does allow him to look forwards as well.
"I think there's been so much kind of talk around what I can do in Grand Tours and expectation, not really coming from myself to be honest, more from other people that - this is a big deal, that I've shown that I can perform.
"OK, I'm a way off winning" - in Spain he was projected Sunday morning to finish 3:11 off overall Vuelta champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) - "But that doesn't mean I won't be closer in the future.
"I think in such a short time period, what we've achieved as a team, is evident now I'm on the podium. So I can only be happy and positive and look forward to what I will do in the future."
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