Tom Pidcock: I want to make a bigger impression at the Tour de France

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) kick-started his road season with a respectable sixth overall at the Volta ao Algarve but the British rider has his targets firmly set on major objectives this year with the Ardennes Classics, Tour de France and Olympic Games all on his race programme.

The 24-year-old finished 13th in last year’s Tour de France and won a stage in 2022 during his debut in the race. This time around the goal is to push into the top ten, with his Ineos Grenadiers coach previously telling GCN that a top-five overall in Nice would be a realistic aim.

In Portugal, the British all-rounder admitted that having a stronger Tour than last year was a target and that he would aim to peak throughout July and into August for the Paris Games.

“At the Tour, I want to make a bigger impression than last year and to do that I need to prepare better because I also want to come out with my biggest personal focus at the Olympics with the mountain bike so if I want to come out in a good place at the Tour then I need to go in, in a good place,” he told GCN and Eurosport.

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The Volta ao Algarve has become a regular early-season outing for Pidcock in the last few years with the Ineos rider typically using the five-day race to build his form and transition from cyclo-cross onto the road. This year was no exception with top-ten placings on the two uphill finishes and a decent showing in the 22km time trial.

Pidcock won the final stage to the summit of the Alto do Malhāo in 2023 and he was in the mix this time around too. However, he wasn’t able to quite match the accelerations from stage winner Dani Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe) and overall winner Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and was forced to settle for third on the line.

“Today was a hard stage, and it was full gas all day. I had a pretty good kick at the end there but it wasn’t quite enough. Dani and Remco were just a bit stronger but I think that I can be satisfied with that. It’s always difficult with these first races. I’m happy,” he told GCN.

One of Pidcock’s other aims in the Algarve was to post a solid time trial. Earlier in the race he explained that he’d spent longer on the time trial bike than in previous seasons and that the discipline would take a greater focus as part of his stage racing programme. He finished 26th, 1:30 down on stage winner Evenepoel, but saw positive aspects in his performance.

“I’m pretty happy with the time trial. I wasn’t expecting miracles but it wasn’t terrible. A minute and a half to Remco isn’t too bad. There are certainly a lot of places where I can make up time, and improvements are coming. It was a better time trial for me than last year at this race and it’s a discipline that takes a lot of time and energy,” he said.

Pidcock’s next outing comes in a week at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in Belgium. The race starts the Ineos rider on a Classics path that will run until the end of the Ardennes in April. The Belgian one-day race isn’t a major factor in his mind but he’ll use the event to measure himself against the rest of the Classics specialists, and then build towards Strade Bianche - a race he won in 2023.

“It’s not really too deep in my mind,” he said in reference to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

"It’s more about the races after that. It’s about preparation for later. I’ve never really done that well in Opening Weekend, last year I was fifth but I wasn’t good in the race but if I can feel strong in the race, that would be good.”