'I found an opening, but I was a little far back' - Tom Pidcock impresses in sprint four days after Strade Bianche battle with Pogačar

Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) took another impressive second place in Italy on stage 3 of Tirreno-Adriatico, four days after his impressive second place at Strade Bianche.

The Q36.5 rider battled with Tadej Pogačar and the dry gravel roads of Tuscany on Saturday. On Wednesday, contrastingly, he faced the cold and rain of a very different Tuscany and Umbria during the 239km ride from Follonica on the coast to Colfiorito, 760 metres above Foligno in the hilly heart of Italy.

With the riders trying to stay warm and safe, the average speed was just 36.919km/h for the stage. The peloton had breakfast at dawn and started the stage at 9:30. With a ride to sign-on and a 6.9km neutralised sector, they spent seven hours in the saddle.

Pidcock was in the thick of the action when the attacks came in the final ten kilometres of the rising road to Colfiorito and then threw himself into the 50-rider sprint finish.

"It was definitely a day to remember with almost seven hours in the rain. Then it becomes a day where it’s a lot about survival," Pidock said.  

"The guys did a really great job in getting me in the right position for that final climb. It was a bit more of a race up there than I thought."

Pidcock was always seen on or near the front when the attacks were made in the final kilometres by Ben Healy and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and finally, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers). He was unable to close down Ganna and so initially let him go, but he was then in the right position for the sprint.  

"In the sprint, I found an opening, but I was a little far back. In the end, it’s a nice second place, and I take some bonus seconds too," Pidcock concluded.

He lost 1:06 to Ganna in the opening time trial and 44 seconds to Ayuso, perhaps ending his overall hopes. But now has four victories and eight top ten results from the 15 races he has completed so far in 2025 for his new team, with more opportunities to come at Tirreno-Adriatico.