Tom Pidcock crashes out of Itzulia Basque Country during TT recon

Ineos Grenadiers were dealt a blow ahead of the opening stage at Itzulia Basque Country, with Tom Pidcock forced to withdraw from the race following a crash in training.

The 24-year-old was undertaking a recon of the stage 1 individual time trial course when he suffered a crash, which was been reported by the team on social media.

At the hospital after his crash, Pidcock was examined and scans came back negative for any fractures.

“The wind took me out on one of the corners on the circuit. Ive hit my hip pretty hard and I can't bear any weight on it at all,” Pidcock said in a video posted to X. “So yeah, I am heading home now. I have had some scans but they didn't show anything, but we will keep looking after it over the next couple of days because it doesn’t feel very nice.”

Read more: Our official preview for Itzulia Basque Country

Stage 1 was a 9.9km-long time trial that took on one categorised climb. It was the first showdown between the GC favourites that initially included Pidcock, along with Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step).

The Yorkshireman is said to have worked hard at improving his time trialling over the winter and even admitted to trying different length cranks in a bid to increase his performance in the discipline. He flattered to deceive in his time trials at the Volta ao Algarve and Tirreno-Adriatico, but Itzulia Basque Country would have offered favourable terrain for a good performance.

Read more: Tom Pidcock leans into bike tech science with low tyre pressure and shorter crank length

It was to be Pidcock's first stage race since he rode to ninth overall at Tirreno-Adriatico in March. There, he was put under the cosh by the domineering Vingegaard, who continued his destructive path to this summer's Tour de France.

Pidcock is currently slated to be one of Ineos Grenadiers' leaders at the Tour and Itzulia Basque Country was to be his final stage race before the Grand Départ in Florence, Italy. However, it remains to be seen how bad the British rider's injuries are following this latest crash.

A video on social media showed Pidcock being carried by paramedics from Ineos Grenadiers' team bus to a nearby ambulance, with the Brit reported to have been taken out by a gust of wind some 9km into the route.

His original schedule included Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he placed runner-up behind Evenepoel last season. It is unclear at the moment if Pidcock will race any of the Ardennes Classics.

For the latest news, interviews and analysis from the world of professional cycling, be sure to check out the Racing tab on the GCN website and visit our dedicated race page for Itzulia Basque Country to check out the preview, startlist and more.