Pidcock rides from Germany to Czech Republic for next MTB World Cup round

Tom Pidcock is focusing on MTB in May
Tom Pidcock is focusing on MTB in May (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)

Tom Pidcock took the term 'recovery ride' to new extremes as he trekked nearly 200km from Germany to the Czech Republic on Monday. 

The Olympic champion won the World Cup round in Albstadt, Germany, on Sunday, but decided against resting up the following day. 

He also decided against making his way to the Czech Republic - where the next round of the World Cup takes place this weekend - by more traditional modes of transport, such as car. 

Instead, he kitted up and set off for what would be a near six-hour ride totalling 190.2km. 

Pidcock set off from just outside Schwandorf, near Nuremberg, some 300km from Albstadt, where he competed on Sunday. Heading east, he reached the Czech border at Liskova after 75km, stopping to take a photo that he shared to social medial. 

Pidcock then continued north east, bypassing Plzen as he made his way in the direction of Prague, the Czech capital. He finished his ride just after crossing into the Central Bohemia region of the country, near a small village called Cerhovice. 

Shared on Strava, the ride totalled 190.2km and took five hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds, giving an average speed of 32.7kph. The total elevation gain for the ride was 2,141 metres, while Pidcock expended nearly 5,000 calories.

Pidcock has put a stop to road racing as he focuses on MTB for the month of May. However, he had his race-issue Pinarello Dogma F on hand for Monday's ride, otherwise it would have taken him a good deal longer. 

There are still a good 200km between Cerhovive and Nove Mesto, so it remains to be seen whether Pidcock is hitting the road again on Tuesday to complete the journey by bike. 

The Nove Mesto round of the UCI World Cup series takes place this weekend, with Pidcock in action in both the short track event on Friday and the main XCO event on Sunday. He is set to return to the road in the summer and is in line for a debut at the Tour de France.

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Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.