Tom Pidcock sidelined from cyclo-cross, only one race left on programme

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) has withdrawn from this week’s cyclo-cross races, and may now only ride one more event before the close of the 2023/24 season.

The Brit was down to race the X2O Trofee Koksijde, Hexia Cyclocross Gullegem and the World Cup in Zonhoven on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday this week, but has been sidelined from racing through illness.

After already withdrawing from Koksijde, his Ineos Grenadiers team confirmed he would also miss the next races. They did not mention the nature of Pidcock’s illness.

With three races now off his calendar, the 24-year-old now only has one race remaining on his plan, the penultimate UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup round in Benidorm on 21 January.

Read more: Tom Pidcock to race six cyclo-cross World Cup events over the winter

Pidcock had only ever planned to do a fairly limited programme, starting in December in Herentals and only taking in 10 races, missing the World Championships in Tábor, but this bout of illness will see his programme shrink even further.

The decision to race less cyclo-cross comes from a desire to focus on his road and mountain bike goals for 2024, and it remains to be seen whether Pidcock will decide to get back on the CX bike for one last race in Benidorm, or if he may decide to cut his season short and focus his recovery elsewhere.

Koksijde was initially set to be the final ‘big three’ battle - a race featuring Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Pidcock - but with Van Aert reportedly adding the Benidorm World Cup to his schedule in place of Zonhoven this week, fans may yet see one last fight between the sport’s biggest names.

Read more: Where will Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock and Wout van Aert clash this winter?

Prior to being sidelined, Pidcock has had a mixed cyclo-cross season so far, already set back by a minor illness and inopportune crashes in various races. He’s taken one win, in the World Cup in Namur, but has struggled to be at the front of the race otherwise.

After a run of podiums, his most recent results have been 12th in the GP Sven Nys and 25th in the Hulst World Cup after battling back through the field after a crash.