Following the news that Wout van Aert will ride a very limited cyclocross season of perhaps only eight or 10 races, Tom Pidcock's coach Kurt Bogaerts announced that the Briton will follow a similar winter plan.
Van Aert and his Jumbo-Visma team recently planned out his 'cross season, with eight confirmed races between December 9 and January 4 including six meetings with World Champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
The Dutchman is taking on a longer programme of 13 races running from late December through January and towards the UCI World Championships in Tabor. Van der Poel will be the only one of the 'big three' taking on the Worlds, though.
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Bogaerts didn't give specifics on Pidcock's racing schedule but did say that the 24-year-old would switch his attention to planning for the road season shortly after the new year.
"There is currently no definitive, clearly defined winter programme. But it will be very concentrated in any case, with an emphasis on the end-of-year period," Bogaerts told Het Laatste Nieuws, according to WielerFlits.
"He'll contest a number of races during the busy end-of-year period, and it won't last very long after that. It's a bit similar to last season.
"The World Championships? No, I don't think so," he added.
Pidcock took on 14 races in the world champion's stripes last 'cross season, winning two and podiuming six others. It seems he's unlikely to start that many this winter, though.
The news that neither Van Aert nor Pidcock will be heading to Tabor on February 4 also means that Van der Poel's path to a sixth rainbow jersey – one short of record-holder Roger De Vlaeminck – is much clearer.
He'll face off against the likes of UCI World Cup leader Lars van der Haar, Superprestige leader Eli Iserbyt, and X2O Trofee leader Thibau Nys, as well as other major names such as European Champion Michael Vanthourenhout and European silver medallist Cameron Mason.
Pidcock won't be there, however. Last year, he only raced once after New Year's Day and hit the ground running in the road season, winning atop the Alto do Malhão at the Volta ao Algarve and then soloing to victory at Strade Bianche.
The main focus of his winter will be building for the road season and goals much later in 2024. Those include the Tour de France and the Paris Olympic Games, where he'll target both the road race and a defence of his cross-country mountain bike gold.
"Make no mistake, Tom is really looking forward to cyclocross," Bogaerts said. "But it remains an 'extra', admittedly with great added value, as this year proved. He was up there right away with a win on the queen stage of the Volta ao Algarve and Strade Bianche.
"It's key to underpin his fitness well and to make sure he doesn't break down during the road season. That has worked out well because there haven't been any spectacular dips so far."
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