It poured with rain during the opening day of Tirreno-Adriatico but morale was high at Ineos Grenadiers as Filippo Ganna won the 11.5km opening time trial just 48 hours after Tom Pidcock dominated Strade Bianche.
Pidcock’s victory in Siena after a 50km solo attack showed the Yorkshireman’s full potential and determination in the second major Classic of the season.
Jumbo-Visma and former Ineos rider Dylan van Baarle dominated Omloop Het Nieuwsblad but Ineos responded in Italy, much to the pleasure of team manager Rod Ellingworth.
"You can feel it in the team, victory at Strade Bianche has lifted everybody and that’s exactly where you want them to be. To kick off early with a big win settles everybody down," Ellingworth told Cyclingnews at Tirreno-Adriatico.
"Fair play to Tom, he's done a good job. There's no better bike race for him due to his bike skills, climbing ability and hunger. Strade Bianche was his first big goal of 2023. It was the reason why he didn't do the cyclocross worlds and that proved to be the right choice."
Ellingworth recognised Pidcock’s character in his Strade Bianche victory, the 23-year-old feeling extra motivation - not fear - for the big races.
"I told him earlier how I was really impressed with his ride. Most people would have given up when the gap to the chasers fell to just eight seconds but he didn't. He said to me: ‘I went all in'," Ellingworth said.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"I love that in a bike rider. It was impressive but that’s Tom's character. He can step up on the big occasions. You can see the special riders, they step up like that. Think about the Tour de France last year when he won on L’Alpe d’Huez, the mountain bike race at the Olympics. They're all big, big moments, so seeing him do that again on Saturday was impressive."
Creating a sense of competition inside Ineos
Ellingworth admits he likes a sense of competition inside his team. It has to be managed, but helps everyone perform better.
"We like ambitious young riders at Ineos Grenadiers," Ellingworth said with a smile.
"I quite like that sort of pressure in the team. And I've constantly talked about the upward pressure from the young guys to the older guys too. Look at Geraint Thomas' performances last year; he stepped up because these young kids were pushing him. That's exactly what you want.
“Last year Tom was finding his feet and we gave him time but when he saw people like Magnus Sheffield winning races last year he wanted it too. You can see that he's really ambitious.
"We're in that phase where we're building this group of ambitious young bike riders for the next few years. I think we'll see them start to flourish very soon."
The next Ineos Grand Tour leader?
Pidcock won atop Alpe d'Huez at last year's Tour de France (Image credit: Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
Pidcock dominated the Under 23 Giro d’Italia in 2020, won gold in the cross country mountain bike event at the Tokyo Olympics and won the Tour de France stage to L’Alpe d‘Huez on his debut in 2022.
It would be a natural career progression to soon target a Grand Tour soon but Pidcock has always pushed back about being pigeon-holed or obliged to give up one cycling goal for another.
Ellingworth is well aware of Pidcock’s stage race potential and is also happy for Pidcock’s career path to take its own road, perhaps with guidance and support from Ineos.
Fortunately for Ellingworth and the team, Pidcock agreed a new five-year contract with the team that runs until the end of 2027.
"A lot of people ask me: ‘Is Tom going to be your next GC leader?’ But we just keep going and going. That’s the way we work," Ellingworth explained.
"We never thought Geraint Thomas would win the Tour back when he was 21 or 22 but he did. So we Look at all these guys and you think: ‘Why can't they can’t they go on to win Grand Tours'.
“A lot of it is about their will power and if they want it or not. I don't see why you can’t win Grand Tours and much more in modern cycling. Tadej Pogačar has won Classics and Grand Tours and he’s riding Flanders this year too. These guys are all talented and I think it's different to how it used to be. So if they're targeted well, with the right support and training, it can be done, they can win it all.”
"We expect Tom to do the Tour this year and I think he'll progress. He'll keep progressing as he wants to and hopefully he can progress with us."
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).
