Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) scored a come-from-behind victory on the second day of his cyclocross season at the UCI World Cup in Namur, catching and passing Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) on the penultimate lap of the race.
His run to the line wasn't without drama, though, with his front wheel running flat heading into the final lap. Luckily for him, the pits were close by, meaning he only lost a handful of seconds to Ronhaar.
In the end, he extended his advantage out to 15 seconds on one last lap around the technical, muddy course. Further back, Ronhaar's Baloise Trek Lions teammate Joris Nieuwenhuis rounded out the podium with a solo ride to third at 32 seconds down.
"It wasn't simple but I can be happy with that," Pidcock said after the race. "I learned from the last time I raced here that the last laps are where it really counts. If you go too deep in the start you make mistakes in the end and you can lose 30 seconds easily, so I was just waiting and waiting. Then I went, but then I punctured and I had to go again. I was never sure."
"After my chain got stuck and I came back, I thought that today I have a chance. But it was not easy. Like I said, it's a course where you can't really go in the red."
"I can't complain. It's a nice start, I guess. I'm quite surprised actually. Yesterday my technique was already pretty good. I rode my mountain bike but my 'cross bike not so much. I had quite a long period of training, maybe six weeks, and my base is pretty good."
With Namur being his second race and first World Cup of the season Pidcock didn't start on the front row, meaning he had to chase from the start. He picked off riders one by one as he worked his way through the field towards the other top favourites.
It was the three Dutchmen of Ronhaar, Nieuwenhuis, and Ryan Kamp (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) who took control at the front, pushing on to create separation between them and the rest.
Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) tried to bridge across to the trio but wouldn't make it, leaving him away from the front of the race for the rest of the hour as he raced on to an eventual fourth place, 52 seconds down.
But for Pidcock, it was a different story as he worked his way into contention, first closing down the gap and then picking off Kamp and Nieuwenhuis before pursuing race leader Ronhaar.
It was a gradual chase but the 24-year-old made it across just before the penultimate lap of the eight, briefly racing with 22-year-old Ronhaar. He was quick to put the pressure on at the front, however, and managed to distance his rival after several accelerations.
He went clear on lap seven and built his lead up to nine seconds heading into the finale, though there was a spot of late drama with the flat tyre. But the pits were close and Pidcock could limit his losses. Ronhaar got within five seconds of the leader, but Pidcock pushed on once again towards the finish, extending his lead to secure the win.
Results
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