Tom Pidcock has listed out his road season calendar, with the Vuelta a España, Strade Bianche, and the UCI Road World Championships all on the menu.
The British all-rounder has also confirmed that he will bring his official start date at Ineos Grenadiers forward by a month and will link up with Dave Brailsford’s team at the start of February, just after the completion of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.
"I finish 'cross on January 31, and then as of February I change to Ineos," the 21-year-old confirmed on the Lanterne Rouge Cycling Podcast.
"It was March but we’re changing it to February now. I’ll be doing the Mediterranean Epic, the mountain bike race, and then the Volta ao Algarve and Opening Weekend. There’s no break, I’m going straight into the road.
"There's an idea that me and my coaches have come to. Beyond the first races, it’s Strade Bianche, but hopefully I’ll be doing a big mountain bike block in June, and then Olympics, hopefully. And then I want to ride the Vuelta and then the road Worlds."
Pidcock has not taken part in a Grand Tour before but certainly has pedigree in stage racing, having won the Baby Giro in 2020 in convincing style, with three stages wins and a sizeable gap over his nearest rivals.
The full routes for both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España have yet to be announced but, given his schedule and his devotion to mountain biking during the summer, the Vuelta looks like the most likely option at this early stage. Pidcock believes that he’s ready for a three-week challenge and that he’s more than willing to support his team, should he be selected.
"I’d like to do a Grand Tour. I’m not going to go in as a leader but I can go in and help the team. I’m happy to do that. There’s no pressure and it’s almost easier to perform when you’re not under pressure. I quite like working for others sometimes."
One race not on Pidcock’s plans this year is Paris-Roubaix but the former winner at both junior and under-23 level wants to at least take on the WorldTour race in 2022, and one day compete for the win on the Roubaix velodrome.
"I’m not riding it this year but next year I want to ride it," he said.
"For sure, if I win I’ll be the first guy who is sub-60kg to win, so it’s something that I want to target. Whether I do win… I simply don’t have the raw power of the big guys - they’re just the facts - but I do want to give it a go. It’s one of my favourite races, especially when all the fans are allowed to come back."
For now, Pidcock remains focused on cyclo-cross, with the elite World Championships taking place at the end of this month. He believes that his current training regime and 'cross activity will serve him well on the road when he can add more stamina and endurance to his programme.
"It’s simply not possible to replicate a cyclo-cross race in training. They’re so fast now," he said.
"Even if I just did it for training for the road, it’s by far the best training that I could do for the road – to be explosive, powerful, and fast for the road and then you just need to add endurance and you’re basically a complete road rider then."
