Tom Pidcock: I want to win from the lead group, not the breakaway

As Tom Pidcock grows in age, so too does his ambition. Speaking to the media ahead of the start of the Tour de France, the Olympic mountain bike champion made clear that this year he was hoping to take a step up from his successful Tour a year ago.

“I want to take a step on GC and try and win a stage,” Pidcock said of his renewed goals for the Tour. “This year I want to win from the lead group and not the breakaway, which will keep me up on GC.”

For many riders in Pidcock’s position, oftentimes they must choose whether to battle for the top 10 overall, or to chase stage wins from the breakaway. Rarely can a rider who is not one of the top favourites win the stages where a select group will battle out for the stage win. Yet Pidcock was bullish on his ability to do so.

Joining Pidcock at the Tour will be a strong team of climbers and stage hunters. Most notable is the 2019 Tour de France champion Egan Bernal who will be returning to the Tour for the first time since his career-threatening crash at the start of 2022.

“Before the [Critéium du] Dauphiné I planned to be on holiday now,” Bernal said. “The next week they told me I would start and now I am here.”

“It has been a hard few years, but I am thankful to be alive and thankful to be back at the Tour.”

Bernal will be given a free role at his first Tour back and will be joined by a strong contingent of Spanish speaking climbers on the team, with Dani Martínez and Carlos Rodríguez joining the Colombian in Bilbao.

As for targets for the former winner? The 26-year-old remained non-committal: “I am not sure on targets, I will take it day by day.”

Between Bernal’s comeback and Pidcock’s stage pursuits, that particular cliché means a little more as the team continues to define its objectives in a rare Tour where the overall win or podium is not their ultimate goal.