Tom Pidcock’s blistered and painful hands perfectly summed up his Paris-Roubaix debut and his 17th place in the velodrome, 6:20 down on dominant winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
The Ineos-Grenadiers racer was a late entry to the Hell of the North after crashing before the opening time trial of Itzulia Basque Country.
He is targeting the Ardennes Classics that begin next Sunday with the Amstel Gold Race but wanted to test his form, and - after winning the Junior and U23 versions of Paris-Roubaix - get a taste of the elite level race, too.
“It’s a completely different beast. The speed was pretty incredible,” a clearly fatigued Pidcock told Cyclingnews and GCN after he completed anti-doping and rode back to the Ineos Grenadiers team bus.
“It’s a pretty epic race. I couldn't hold my bars at the end of the race, that was my biggest problem. There’s not much else to say. A top 20 is not bad is it?”
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Pidcock had recovered quickly from his Itzulia crash. He left the race unable to put weight on his hip but managed to train during the week and start Paris-Roubaix without any recon rides. His last major race on the French cobbles was in 2019 when he won the U23 race.
Yet he was well-placed when Alpecin-Deceununck split the race early on again after the Forest of Arenberg sector and deeper into the race as the cobbled sectors countdown down.
He was only distanced when van der Poel attacked with 60km to go and the select front group fought the podium places in a battle of elimination.
His lack of raw power to take on van der Poel, Mads Pedersen and other big rouleur riders eventually saw him lose contact, his blistered hands perhaps hurt as much as his legs.
“The race was split in bits from the first sector really,” Pidcock explained.
“It was a big day out but there was not much I could have done. At the end of the day, the weight comes into play and I only have so much power.”
Five and a half hours of racing at an average speed of 47.802 km/h over 55.7km of cobbled roads left Pidcock with obvious signs of race fatigue.
His emotions seemed to be a mix of love and hate for Paris-Roubaix, perhaps leaving him unsure if it is the most beautiful race in the sport or if he would ever return one day to try to win the famous cobblestone trophy.
“It was good but I’m struggling to have the energy to sum up my day,” he said.
“I’m coming around but it’s like you’re on drugs due to the speed of the race.”
“My opinion on Paris-Roubaix might have changed after today,” he added.
“I think it’s actually more difficult to win Paris-Roubaix now that I’ve done it.
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