Cyclingnews understands Tom Pidcock is set to stay with Ineos Grenadiers beyond 2022 after agreeing to terms for a new contract with the British superteam.
The 22-year-old British rider has recently attracted interest from leading bike brands such as Trek, Cannondale and others, who admire his multi-discipline success and would love to tempt him away from Ineos Grenadiers and off a Pinarello bike.
The biggest bike brands were surprised to discover during January's UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, which Pidcock won, that the 22-year-old had still to ink a new contract with Ineos Grenadiers. They apparently quickly put together bids to sign him with the road racing teams they sponsor, with Pidcock's contract value said to be at least €4 million per season.
“Of course, I’m going to stay in the sport longer than this year, so there are contract negotiations going on. There is interest but that’s all I’ll say,” Pidcock told VeloNews during the recent Volta ao Algarve.
The interest from rival teams raised the stakes in Pidcock's ongoing negotiations with Ineos Grenadiers but Cyclingnews understands the British team moved quickly to ensure Pidcock will stay in Ineos Grenadiers colours for years to come.
Ineos Grenadiers declined to comment about Pidcock's future and any contract negotiations. His agent Andrew McQuaid was also not available for comment but Cyclingnews understands that a deal has been done and is about to be signed.
Tadej Pogačar, Julian Alaphilippe, Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert are among the most highly paid riders in the men's WorldTour with Pogačar is said to earn around six million Euro per season.
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Like the latter pairing, Van der Poel and Van Aert, Pidcock's versatile and multi-disciplinary talents make him a highly sought-after rider, driving the market and inspiring teams and bike brands to invest significant sums to secure the biggest riders with long-term deals. He races virtually all year around, and is admired globally across all three disciplines for his bike skills and talent.
The 22-year-old British rider stepped up to WorldTour level in 2021 and immediately showed his potential by beating Wout van Art to win De Brabantse Pijl and then finishing a close second to the Belgian in the subsequent Amstel Gold Race.
He won a gold medal in the mountain bike race at the Tokyo Olympics, was sixth at the World Championships and then in January won the cyclo-cross world title. Those results confirmed the talent he showed as an Under 23 rider, where he also dominated the 2020 Under-23 Giro d'Italia.
Pidcock appears to have it all and could win the sport's biggest Classics before dedicating the best years of his career to targeting the Tour de France and Grand Tours.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
