It wasn’t the Grand Tour podium that Tom Pidcock would have envisaged. There was no ticker tape, or crowds, or curated celebrations, but instead a hastily-assembled podium of cool boxes outside Visma-Lease a Bike‘s team hotel in Madrid.
Protests might have cut short stage 21 of the Vuelta a España, but they could not dampen Pidcock’s achievements, as he finished third. He became the first male Olympic MTB champion to finish on the podium of a Grand Tour, and with Q36.5 Pro Cycling, the first rider from a second-division team to be on the podium since 2010.
“I think there’s been so much talk around what I can do in Grand Tours and expectation – not really coming from myself to be honest, more from other people – this is a big deal, that I’ve shown that I can perform,” he explained to Cyclingnews after stage 20.
The 26-year-old finished over three minutes behind Vingegaard, but was consistent throughout the race, only really looking a bit out of sorts on the vertiginous Alto de l’Angliru, where he still placed seventh. On stage 20 to the Bola del Mundo, Pidcock only lost seconds, securing his historic result.
It’s a new experience for Pidcock, who is learning all the time about being a GC rider.
“Before, I didn’t enjoy Grand Tours, it was not so much fun,” he said. “So it [third in Madrid] is definitely something that has changed that perspective and showed me I can achieve what people closest to me believe I can and my team believes I can. It’s a relief, almost – a weight off my shoulders.
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