Pinarello-Q36.5's Tom Pidcock was briefly one of the only riders who could stick with winner Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) during his race-winning attack in Il Lombardia, but ultimately paid for his effort and finished off the podium.
Pidcock and his team – who can't currently match the horsepower of the peloton's biggest squads – raced a smart race, keeping the Brit near the front without exerting themselves too much, and he was in a good place going into the finale.
When Seixas cranked up the pace on the Civiglio climb, big favourites like Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) were immediately dropped, but Pidcock, along with Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), was able to hang onto his wheel, albeit briefly.
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"I had a bad position going into the penultimate climb, I made a bit of an effort to come to the front and then went a little bit deep on the wheel of Paul and paid for it," Pidcock explained at the finish.
"But I felt really good today, just that climb, I just went into the red, and that was it. But it was OK."
Asked about Seixas' race-winning effort, Pidcock accepted that there wasn't much he or anyone could have done to match his acceleration on the climb, which the Frenchman explained was earlier than planned because "the rhythm was not high enough at the start of the climb – for me at least – to make the difference".
"He didn't really attack, he just kind of made his own pace, a high pace," Pidcock said. "He was super strong."
Pidcock was initially the first chaser, but was passed by the likes of Enric Mas (Movistar) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) who would eventually fill out the podium spots. The 27-year-old found himself in the main chasing group with Evenepoel, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and others, eventually taking sixth on the line.
Though Pidcock has had a string of top results this autumn – including two runner-up spots in the Italian Classics – the fact he missed out on another big result on Saturday was not a major source of disappointment.
"Good," was his summary of the late-season campaign. "Today I think I also suffered from not knowing the route so well, it was the first time I'd done it this way, so definitely I think that's an advantage. But no excuses, wasn't strong enough, and so it is."
He still has a few more shots at success before the year is out, though, as he will now head to the Tour of Guangxi to finish his season in China.
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