With a mountain bike world title two Sundays ago and a road win last Sunday, Tom Pidcock has the potential to keep up a pretty good streak at this weekend's Grand Prix de Montréal, and all the signs point to his road form being good heading into the last block of 2026.
After what he self-described as "weird feelings" after the Tour de France, where he finished ninth overall, the Brit found his rhythm again to win the Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole at the end of August, and backed that up with a victory on the road at the GP Industria & Artigianato.
That run of form has undoubtedly added extra stars against his name for this week's Grands Prix in Canada – where he would have always been a contender – and indeed the UCI Road World Championships.
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But for the ever-relaxed Pidcock, he's starting this next block without major expectations or pressure, despite potential favourite status for several of the big races to come.
"It should be good racing," he said of his debut in the Canadian GPs. "After the Tour was just a bit weird feelings in general, so I didn't rush, I didn't push myself. Then I trained hard the last few weeks before Mountain Bike Worlds, felt good, pretty happy with how I came back on the road as well. So I don't know, I don't really have that much expectations, I'm just gonna enjoy the last part of the year really."
The enjoyment certainly comes easier for Pidcock when he's feeling good and doing well, something he perhaps didn't get to do at the Tour de France after a disrupted training period in the lead-in, but right now, everything seems to be coming together.
After winning in Val di Sole, he added the GP Industria & Artigianato to his schedule somewhat last minute, and won, commenting on Instagram that he "came to find my road legs back but they don't seem to have left in the first place".
For a rider who is so adept at balancing both his road and off-road ambitions, the immediate transition between the two has not always been as smooth as it was last week.
"In the past when I've come from the mountain bike I've always struggled on the road to just find the rhythm in road racing, but actually I managed quite well after the mountain bike," he said. "I came straight home and then I suffered through an efforts session, and last week was hard, but I got through it, and I think that helped a lot to then feel good again in the race. Obviously it was not the highest level in the world, but yeah."
'It would be really nice to win a WorldTour race this year'
The aim for this weekend coming, then, is to keep that good form rolling into a busy period which will include the Canadian races, the World Championships, some Italian Classics and Il Lombardia, and a trip to China for the Tour of Guangxi (mainly because "I want to go to China").
"Just get some good results and carry on the momentum of the last few weeks," he said of his aim in Canada. "I don't know, I'm just relaxed, and that was kind of a surprise win [on the road] so the momentum is nice, but I'll take what comes."
After some frustration around the Tour, with Grand Tours still "not the thing I enjoy the most" despite some very strong results, it's good to see a more relaxed Tom Pidcock in Canada, but whilst he's not piling the pressure on, that doesn't mean he's not keen to race hard and chase a victory this autumn.
"Well, I think it would be really nice to win a WorldTour race this year," he said. "The season started well, and then it was a bit crap in the middle. The Tour was good considering everything, but I still didn't do that much, so I want to try and finish the year well."
The first chance for that elusive WorldTour win comes on Friday at the GP de Quebec, where Pidcock is hoping for a race that will suit him.
"I'm always good at circuit races, the repetition and things. I think Friday's going to be a quite open race. I think people saw last year that on the new course, when they race hard, they can open up the race and make it a bit less predictable, which I think a lot of the teams here will want to do with the riders they have. And then Montreal will just be about legs."
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