Tom was rarely seen pidcock smiling like after his victory in Albstadt, in the first European round of the MTB World CupThe reason isn't so much the magnitude of the event, however significant, but rather the timing of this victory, which came after a period of Northern Classics that hadn't quite gone as hoped for the Briton. Therefore, to understand what Tom really achieved on German soil, we can't help but start a couple of weeks earlier.
The Fall of the Doyenne
Liège-Bastogne-LiègePidcock is looking for redemption after a road racing season from which he expected much more. He took home third place at the Dwars door Vlaanderen and fifth at the Brabant Arrows, which was less than expected. However, his Doyenne ended about sixty kilometres from the finish line, in that huge crash that cost the world champion a good part of his season. Alaphilippe and widespread injuries to a good portion of the group. Even Pidcock isn't immune: "You want to know something? I sacrificed one of my nine lives...
«A rider of the Total Energy (later identified as Jeremy Cabot, ed.) made an irresponsible move by trying to pass where he was not allowed, and this is the result. I may have broken a finger, and I consider myself lucky."
A dominated race
In the end, that finger wasn't broken, but Tom came out of that period in a heap. Returning to mountain biking was like reconnecting with his roots, resetting everything after a period that brought him more pain than joy. It's true, he hadn't trained much on the mountain since the beginning of the season, there wasn't even the possibility, but knowing he had a few days available for Albstadt he got to work with a new attitude, with an inner anger that gave him that something extra.
In Germany Pidcock returned to off-road racing after a splendid cyclocross season, culminating in the triumph at the World Championships in Fayetteville, but after all he didn't pick up a mountain bike from Tokyo Olympic victory. But as soon as he started shooting again, it was as if everything went back to that magical day in Japan. He had dominated then, and he did it again in Germany.
Little MTB training
In Germany, in what is now considered a temple of mountain biking, Pidcock initially left it to the specialists, with a large group at the front led by last year's winner, that Victor Koretzky, French, who has chosen the same path as the British, dedicating himself more to the road this year, running in the Bed and Breakfast. It was Nino several times schurter, the multiple Swiss world champion who tried to make the selection, but without success.
“When I saw that the waters weren’t moving, I tried to do something,” Pidcock said at the end of the race, “and I saw that a gap had opened up, even more easily than I imagined. I can assure you that it was harder than it looked, precisely because I didn't train much on mountain bike., but on the other hand the basic principle is always true: once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget it...".
More and more road racers in the World Cup
Indeed the British of the Ineos Grenadiers he has dug a gap between himself and the others much bigger than the final results say, because the last lap turned into a catwalk for him, as he greeted the crowd and put on a show on his bike, while the opponents were struggling for backup positions, was very reminiscent of what had been seen in Fayetteville, with that angel's flight to the finish line which has been much discussed.
Looking at the Albstadt standings, it's clear that the mix of road and mountain biking is becoming increasingly common in off-road racing. Koretzky, who actually faded during the race, was also notable for Filippo's eighth-place finish. Columbo, the Swiss increasingly involved in road races and which we have already told you about. 20th was Ondrej Cink, a 31-year-old who returned to mountain biking after an unremarkable experience in Bahrain. Samuel, on the other hand, finished only 41st. Gauze, New Zealander of theAlpecin Fenix who two days earlier had blown the bank in the short track, the short race that from this year has a life of its own in mountain biking, with its own World Cup circuit (even if it continues to assign the main places on the starting grid on Sunday) and will also have its own test at the world championships.
A kiwi at the court of VDP
Gaze was considered a great talent since the youth categories with two U23 world titles under his belt, but bad luck fell on him, which tormented him. Suffice it to say that This year, after having stood out at the Tour of Antalya with a Top 10, he had to stop for an operation on both kneesIn 2019 he had decided to try the road, he had joined Deceuninck Quick Step, but after a year his career seemed already over.
Knowing him closely, Mathieu Van der Poel Instead, he decided to take him under his wing, convincing the Alpecin Fenix management to give him a chance, to share their efforts both on the road and in mountain biking. After all, he's still 26 years old and has a lot to offer, Above all, he is ready to do everything for his Dutch captain, who in his dream of winning three world titles in three different disciplines, will need support even from outside the Orange national team.
