Tom targets Olympicgold rather than Tour victory
Tom Pidcock knows he will one day have to make big sacrifices if he is to pursue his goals across cycling – but he is determined to always follow his own path.
As the Olympic and world mountain bike champion, a Tour de France stage winner on the road and the former cyclo-cross world champion, Pidcock has proven himself a cycling multitool in his short career to date.
Still only 24, Pidcock plans to one day target overall victory in the Tour de France, but though he will ride the Tour this summer, his main goal is the defence of his Olympic crown in Paris.
These Games could yet prove a crossroads for Pidcock, who knows a busy mountain bike schedule is not compatible with the level of commitment needed to properly target the Tour.
His Ineos Grenadiers team will surely have a view too, but Pidcock is clear about how he will approach their conversations.
“I think anything that wasn’t my choice would be detrimental to me as a bike rider,” Pidcock told the PA news agency. “I don’t do anything well that I don’t enjoy.”
Ask Pidcock which discipline is closest to his heart, and mountain bike – a love which dates back to family holidays in the French Alps – is the answer.
“It’s what I’m most naturally talented at, I think,” Pidcock said.
“The road incorporates many different types of riders. I want to do well on the road. I see myself as a road rider, but if you really had to say what sort of rider I am, it’s mountain bike. It’s the one I enjoy without fail.
“I could never see myself winning five back-to-back Tours or anything like that,” he said. “I need fresh things. If I won everything once, that’s better than a lot of a few things.”