Pidcock: “I’m getting stronger, but the time trial is approaching and I will lose time”

The British Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) became one of the great protagonists of the longest stage of the Tour de France, passing from tenth to fourth place overallso the double world and Olympic mountain bike champion is running for the fight for the general classification.

The 26-year-old cyclist from Leeds was in charge of revolutionizing the day’s breakaway, and with his third place at the finish line he became fourth overall, 4.15 minutes behind the leader, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, and 9 minutes from the third place occupied by the Belgian Remco Evenepoel.

“It has been a hard day and I have spent a lot of energy, but that happens to all cyclists. I have mixed feelings. There are many positive things to take away from this day, but my goal was to win the stage“he said at the finish line.

Pidcock’s performance on the stage was a boost of morale for Pidcock, who regained the best feeling. “I’m getting closer to the best level again and I finish third again. I’m already competing again. “It reminds me a little of the Vuelta, where I also lost time in the first week,” he explained.

Given his options in the general classification from now on, Pidcock did not show a high dose of confidence, especially for the time trial next Tuesday, where he does not expect to be among the first.

“I know the time trial is on Tuesday, right? I’ll lose a lot of time there”Pidcock admitted.

Azparren: “Studied strategy”

Xabier Mikel AzparrenTom Pidcock’s teammate in the Pinarello Q36.5, celebrated a strategy the team planned over dinner the night before.

“We wanted to get Pidcock into the breakaway and we managed to do it and then take responsibility in the peloton in a final that could go well. We put 3 teammates in front, and that turned out great for us,” explained the San Sebastian cyclist.

Azparren valued the boost in morale that the team leader’s fourth place overall represents. “It is positive to see that week by week and day by day his condition is improving, “He is feeling better and above all, he is getting that positive morale for this weekend and next week, which are going to be very hard,” he concluded.