Without Tom Pidcock, Ineos Grenadiers take on wildcard role in the cobbled Classics

When you’re up against Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert on one side of the fence, and Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel on the other, difficult decisions sometimes have to be made, and Tom Pidcock has passed up the cobbled Classics this Spring, with Ineos Grenadiers instead slotting into more of a wildcard role.

Pidcock, a former winner of Strade Bianche, has led the line for Ineos in the Flemish one-day races in the past couple of years but is hedging his bets on the hillier Ardennes Classics later in the Spring, followed by a general classification tilt at the Tour de France.

For a rider of so many and varied talents – he’s the mountain bike world and Olympic champion as well as a former cycle-cross world champ – there is always the risk of spreading himself too thin, which he and his team are looking to avoid.

Read more: Spring Classics 2024 – Essential guide to the races and riders

“He can’t come to every bike race, unfortunately,” Ineos Grenadiers director Ian Stannard told GCN at the start of the E3 Saxo Classic.

“It’s always nice to have Tom at a race. He’s a leader, and he wants to win. However, at the same time, he has his goals and ambitions, and he cannot be everywhere.”

In the absence of Pidcock, who on his day is one of the riders who can scratch on the coattails of the riders listed above, Ineos Grenadiers may lack a focal point and a solid bet for the final, but they’re not lacking in talent.

Elia Viviani may seem like an odd pick for E3 but Magnus Sheffield will be hoping to step up in an important Spring for the 21-year-old American, the Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez has shown exciting glimpses in these races, and Ben Turner is a potential threat if he can rediscover the form of a couple of years ago.

And then there’s Josh Tarling, the 20-year-old sensation who became the European time trial champion in his neo-pro season last year. He’s not racing E3 but is set to make his Tour of Flanders debut next week ahead of a return to Paris-Roubaix. They’ll all be marshalled by the old hands of Luke Rowe and Ben Swift.

“We haven’t got the top favourite role but we’ve got guys who are just as good as the rest,” Stannard insisted.

“For us it’s about getting ahead and being in front of the top guns coming and then hopefully they mark each other a bit and delay that game. You saw that with how the Classics were last year, everyone is wanting to get ahead, and pre-empt that.

“With the strength of Visma [Lease a Bike], it’s hard to look beyond them, but we’re doing our best, we have plans in place, and guys are keen to race.”

The issue with the tactic of anticipating and stealing a march is that you barely have the chance anymore. The Classics are opening up earlier and earlier in a seemingly endless trend, with Visma-Lease a Bike ripping Omloop Het Nieuwsblad open after barely an hour, and Van Aert launching the winning move at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne some 80km from the finish.

“It’s getting harder and harder to do,” Standard conceded. “Look at Omloop, what was it, 44km it went? And then the race was balls out for the rest of the day. It’s really hard, intense bike racing at the moment.

“Bike racing has changed a lot in general. It’s a lot more aggressive, the points that were the points are now not the points. Every rider is competitive now. Contracts have changed, there’s more in it for everyone, the sport’s just getting more professional and the level is getting higher and higher with it.”

Ineos are in the underdog role for now, but there’ll be a good deal of excitement around Josh Tarling, especially ahead of Paris-Roubaix. The Welshman was outside the time limit – but still finished – on his debut last year, just a couple of months into a career that saw him skip the U23 ranks and jump straight from the juniors to the WorldTour.

Since then, though, he became the joint youngest winner of a WorldTour race, claimed bronze in the World Championship time trial, and then beat the world champ Remco Evenepoel in the European Championships.

“He’s accelerating fast, and there’s still a lot to come from him,” said Standard.

“At the end of day, though, he’s not even a year and a half into his first pro contract. He’s still discovering himself as a pro bike rider, and what it is like to live like a pro. That’s the thing coming straight from junior to WorldTour, it’s a big step and you’re missing that middle step with learning, and how to look after yourself and live as a bike rider.”