Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed his first cyclocross victory in the rainbow jersey at X20 Trofee Kortrijk on Saturday, but the world champion has little time to rest on his laurels. On Sunday, he faces Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) for the first time this winter as the Dutchman begins his cyclocross campaign at the Hulst World Cup.
It remains to be seen how Van der Poel will perform in his first outing of the winter, given that even Pidcock himself needed a race to get up to speed last weekend. After placing seventh on his seasonal debut at Superprestige Merksplas, Pidcock overcame mechanical issues to come second at the Overijse World Cup the next day.
Pidcock’s form looked in crescendo in Kortrijk on Saturday, where he soloed to victory. In the flash interview afterwards, the Briton suggested that Van der Poel was likely to hit the ground running in Hulst.
“For sure, we can expect a good Mathieu. I’m not sure exactly where he starts on the grid, but for sure we can expect him to be good,” Pidcock said. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, I think.”
Van der Poel was absent through injury when Pidcock won last season’s Hulst World Cup. The other member of cyclocross’ Big Three, Wout van Aert, misses out on Hulst this season, with the Jumbo-Visma rider not starting his winter until December 4 in Antwerp.
In Saturday’s race in Kortrijk, Pidcock spent more than half the race alone off the front, though his advantage over his pursuers Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal) never extended beyond 17 seconds.
“I got a bit of a gap, but I couldn’t really extend the gap,” Pidcock said. “I kind of knew if those two came together, they would be kind of thinking for the overall and sure enough when they got together I got a bit more of a gap. It was a hard race, similar to last Saturday. But much better than that [for me].
“I was feeling kind of tired this week, a bit under the weather. The weather has gotten colder and it’s good that I still felt good today.”
Pidcock has started his cyclocross season a little earlier than he did in 2021, when he didn’t pin on a number until Boom in December. “You feel like a numpty every time you do your first race of the year,” Pidcock joked then after his seventh place. On Saturday, he acknowledged that his form was more advanced than it was at this time last year.
“I think this year I’m certainly in better shape. I think showed that last week, even if it wasn’t a win, as Michael [Vanthourenhout] showed how good he is on those courses,” said Pidcock.
“I think every day I get to race in this jersey, it’s enjoyable, it’s a nice experience. All the fans they support me nicely in Belgium and that’s why I’m trying to learn a bit of Flemish as well. I’m going to enjoy this winter, I think.”
