Tom Pidcock 'regrets' Tirreno-Adriatico tactics but hopes to make an impact on GC

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) has his sights set on a strong GC performance at Tirreno-Adriatico, saying he ‘regrets’ his more cautious approach earlier in the race.

Pidcock is 24th in the general classification at the ‘Race of the Two Seas’ after four stages, 37 seconds down on new race leader Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), and with two hard days in the mountains to come.

The Brit was instrumental in helping the peloton catch lone breakaway survivor Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno X-Mobility) in the dying seconds of stage 4 in Giulianova, producing a strong turn on the front in the final kilometre and finishing 15th.

“We wanted to give it a good go today, I regret how I raced yesterday. I had really good legs today also so I wanted to get stuck in. I found myself on the front at the end, I hesitated a minute, maybe I should have gone straight after the Uno-X guy, but I just thought ‘why not’ and whacked it,” he told Eurosport.

After the stage 1 time trial – not Pidcock’s strongest suit – and three sprint finishes, the racing now shifts to two mountainous days which are likely to shake up the GC standings.

“The next stages are going to be super hard, it’s going to be interesting to see," Pidcock added. "I look forward to getting stuck in, giving it a good go, and seeing where I can end up on GC.”

The 24-year-old had a quick turnaround to be ready for Tirreno-Adriatico after racing the 215km Strade Bianche, which he won last year. After a blistering solo attack by Tadej Pogačar ensured the rest of the riders could only fight for the minor places, Pidcock crossed the line in fourth.

Before his efforts on stage 4, he told Eurosport: “I feel okay, I’m in pretty good shape. I recovered okay [from Strade Bianche], now I need to focus on getting something out of this race. The next two days are going to be a big challenge. It’s been a while since I’ve trained in any long efforts or anything like this so it’ll be a bit different coming from Strade, but I look forward to the challenge.”