Milano-Torino was a late addition to Tom Pidcock's schedule and the Pinarello-Q36.5 rider made the most of the opportunity with a victory atop the steep Superga finish.
From the summit there are panoramic views of Turin and the Piedmont region but for Pidcock the obvious view was three days forward and 130 kilometres to the south where Milan-San Remo awaits as his next target. In four appearances at the Monument, Pidcock had his best finish in 2024 with 11th.
"Milan-San Remo is very different. It's very explosive," Pidcock told Cycling Pro Net and other broadcasters after his win Wednesday.
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"Of course [Milano-Torino win] shows I'm in good shape. But yeah, in good shape doesn't mean everything. Last year I was in really good shape [at Milan-San Remo] and then I was in the worst position, and I crashed at the bottom of the Cipressa. So anything can happen."
Last year's race was a disappointment for the British rider, as a crash at the base of the Cipressa took him away from any chance to cover moves by big favourites Mathieu van der Poel or Tadej Pogačar, which is what followed on that climb with 30km to go. While Pogačar jumped first on that climb, Van der Poel kicked fastest from a three-rider break to win a second time at La Classicissima.
Like last year, the form is excellent for Pidcock. He did not race the AlUla Tour this year, where he won the overall to start 2025. This season he opened his road campaign in Spain with podiums at Vuelta a Murcia and Clásica Jaén and then a stage win and third overall at Vuelta a Andalucia. He had a strong top 10 at Strade Bianche and a week later decided to make a debut at Milano-Torino for his Milan-San Remo tuneup.
"I'm very happy. I felt a little bit strange today. It felt like the first race of the season almost, just with the race rhythm and all the accelerations all day."
The opening 150km were flat and led to a pair of ascents of the Superga, the first ascent marked by a 12-rider group in the lead. The second and final ascent saw Movistar launch Cian Uijtdebroeks with a move, with Pidcock responding along with Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe duo Primož Roglič and Giulio Pellizzari, Alexander Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost), Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) and Sebastian Berwick (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA).
They continued past the steepest section at 14% gradient as a stretched-out group and entered the final 1.2km before Roglič went first. But Cepeda, Uijtdebroeks, Pellizzari, Fortunato and Pidcock remained in touch, and it would be Pidcock that delivered a decisive blow with 500 metres to go.
"He attacked, and he attacked quite hard," Pidcock said of Roglič's move with just over a kilometre to race. "I knew it was a long way to go. I didn't really want to go in the red, so I kind of went a bit and then with like 500 metres from the top, I was like, 'I should probably close him'. So I closed the gap.
"And then once I closed it, I was like, 'OK, now we need to try and get to the finish'. When the group came back, and we came into the [final section] really fast, we were racing for the win."
The win at Milano-Torino was only a second elite-level victory in Italy for Pidcock, coming after Strade Bianche in 2023. As a 20-year-old with Trinity Racing he also won three stages and the GC at the U23 Giro.
In a few days he will try for a third elite win in Italy, this time with a special effort at a special race.
"It's one of my favourite races. I hope I can be there in the front," said Pidcock. "We know what's going to happen on the Cipressa, don't we? So we will do our best."
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