Tom Pidcock hoping to improve on podium finishes at Amstel Gold Race

With second and third at Amstel Gold Race already under his belt, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) will be hoping to upgrade his performances to a win in Valkenburg on Sunday.

The Brit was a very close second to Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) when the race came down to a photo finish in 2021, and finished third in 2023 after being one of the few riders to follow Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in the finale.

This year, Pidcock returns to the race and the week of Ardennes racing with big goals, having targeted them from the beginning of the season.

Read more: Preview – Amstel Gold Race 2024

Despite crashing out of Itzulia Basque Country whilst reconning the opening time trial, the 24-year-old is feeling no long-term effects and is looking forward to the opening Ardennes test.

“Amstel is a great race and I love racing there, so I hope to go one better this time,” Pidcock said ahead of Sunday’s race.

“As for the Ardennes, these were a big goal of mine from the start of the year so I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in, together with the team. It’s always a really nice time of the year.”

After leaving the Basque Country earlier than planned, Pidcock took the opportunity to get back to one-day racing a week earlier and made his debut at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.

Read more: Tom Pidcock: 'I couldn't hold my handlebars at the end of Paris-Roubaix, it was epic'

He finished 17th, a good result for the small rider, but he is still recovering from the rough cobbles of northern France.

“My hands are still sore. I guess that’s a lesson that you can’t just drop into Paris-Roubaix, that you even need to prepare your hands,” he said. “Normally I have no problems with these things, but I didn’t ride my mountain bike or do any of the other cobbled Classics so my hands are a bit softer nowadays.”

However, despite the unspectacular result in Roubaix, Pidcock’s Ineos Grenadiers team were keen to stress after the race that all eyes were on the Ardennes, and that their young star was building well towards the hillier races of the spring.

After the Ardennes, with the Monument Liège-Bastogne-Liège – where Pidcock finished second last year – as the focal point, the rest of the Brit’s programme is not yet out in the open, with only the Tour de France and Olympics on his schedule at present.

He is likely to mix in some mountain bike racing as he looks to improve his ranking ahead of the Paris Olympics, with the World Cup season continuing in Nové Město at the end of May after the season opener in Brazil this weekend.

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