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News that Tom Pidcock had been deselected by his Ineos Grenadiers team for Saturday’s Il Lombardia showed that tensions between the rider and the squad were continuing.
He previously inked a multi-million pound contract to be the star rider for the once-mighty squad, with some seeing him as the next big hope for British cycling.
However with long-running unease between the two parties plus rumors that other teams have been chasing his signature, it seems more than possible the Olympic MTB champion will exit his current deal.
Team co-leader Geraint Thomas spoke about those tensions between Pidcock and Ineos management in recent days. So too has former world No. 1 and Europort analyst Sean Kelly, who for many years ran the An Post Sean Kelly team with Kurt Bogaerts.
Bogaerts has been working closely with Pidcock as his coach and as part of his sport director role within Ineos Grenadiers.
“We have been reading about how things are going at Ineos,” Kelly told Velo this weekend.
“It’s not been easy for Pidcock and Kurt. I talk to Kurt pretty regularly, and I’ve been talking [to him] about it.
“I think since last year and the [2023] Tour de France, the relationship hasn’t been good. It’s not been good for Pidcock in that environment. It’s impossible to compete at the best level.
“They’re talking now about the salary he’s getting and that he hasn’t been performing. But if you’re trying to do road bike, mountain bike, cyclocross, it’s impossible to be at your best on the road. So that decision has to be made.”
‘It really upsets your road preparation’
Pidcock won the Olympic MTB title in both Tokyo and Paris. He is a past world champion in that discipline and also in cyclo ross.
Like Mathieu van der Poel, he has incredible versatility. However Van der Poel isn’t an aspiring Tour de France contender, but instead targets single-day goals.
Chasing success in grand tour is a completely different matter.
Kelly believes there may be two conflicting demands on Pidcock, namely the wishes of equipment suppliers versus those of the team itself.
“The bike brands want you to do multiple disciplines. And then maybe the main sponsor only wants him to do road. It’s a bit of a complicated one,” he said.
If Pidcock truly wants to target a race such as the Tour, Kelly suggests a change in approach may be needed.
“I think if he wants to really focus on the road, he’s going to have to concentrate 100 percent on the road,” he said.
“Maybe some cyclocross before the season starts. Late December, that sort of thing, like we see some of the guys doing.
“But if you do a lot of cyclocross and then try and do mountain bike, that’s complicated. It is a discipline you have to go away and practice for. And then you have to do the events to qualify for the start grid in the mountain bike worlds or Olympics.
“If that’s what the sponsor wants, it has to be done. But it really upsets your road program, your road preparation.”
Decision time
Whether Pidcock stays with Ineos Grenadiers or moves elsewhere, Kelly believes those paying his wages need to be very clear about what they want from him.
“It all comes down to sponsors, if they can agree what they want to do. If they want it to be just road only, then he has to try and do that.
“But if the bike manufacturers want him to do mountain biking as well, well then you have to just try and work something out.”
Doing both disciplines is possible, but trying to win the Tour will require a much more focused approach.
Pidcock can’t fully take on Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel as long as he has one eye on the mountain bike world.
At 25 years of age it may be time for Pidcock to make a choice and fully commit.
