In career-best form, Tom Pidcock goes into his maiden Giro d’Italia vowing to light up as many stages as possible.
The Briton will lead Q36.5’s ambitions in the Corsa Rosa, and could even take the race’s first maglia rosa on stage one, with a tough finishing circuit around the Albanian capital city of Tirana likely to reward punchy climbers and daring descenders.
Beyond that, the 25-year-old insists that he is targeting stage victories rather than the general classification. “The main reason I’ve come here is to get stuck in every day, to enjoy racing the Giro and opportunities will come if I do that,” he said on the eve of the race. “I’ve got shape coming out of the Ardennes Classics and I’m looking forward to taking that into the race.
“I want to race hard every day, race to my strengths and not be afraid. I think the third week is certainly going to come to everybody and it’s going to be difficult but I think it’s going to be raced hard from the start.
“The only unknown thing [with him] is probably the longer climbs. Apart from that I think I can be quite competitive every day.”
Pidcock joined the Swiss second-tier team in the winter after breaking free from his contract with Ineos Grenadiers, following a fallout with team management. The change of environment has clearly done the Yorkshireman the world of good, with him winning four races this spring, and being on the podium of Strade Bianche and La Flèche Wallonne.
“I think so,” he said when asked if he's in best ever form. “Milan-San Remo was definitely a missed opportunity I think [he finished 40th], then I was sick, the Ardennes weren’t perfect, they didn’t go how I wanted them to go, and I wasn’t in the shape as I was in Strade, but I think I’ve certainly showed myself what I can do.
“I think Strade definitely was a big performance as it showed I’ve gotten closer. Tadej [Pogačar] is on another level – the only guy beating him is Mathieu [van der Poel] on his terrain – so I think Strade was definitely a confidence boost.
“I don’t really see what people think, and I’ve said it before that I don’t really do social media anymore, but I have seen a big increase in people supporting me compared to last year. I think they resonate with what happened and I think people have got behind me a little bit more.”
At Q36.5 he is the proverbial big fish in the small pond, the team’s absolute superstar, outright leader. That pressure and expectation is something Pidcock thrives off. “I like being responsible for everything, for my own destiny, if you like,” he said. “It’s a big responsibility which helps me to get the most out of myself.”
Pidcock revealed that he had wanted to make his Giro debut 12 months ago. “I have a good relationship with Italy, I won the Baby Giro [in 2020], and it’s a race I’ve wanted to do for a while. I wanted to do it last year and I’m excited I’ve got the opportunity now.”
The former cyclocross world champion made comments towards the end of the 2024 season about not enjoying racing the Tour de France with Ineos last year, and when asked if he has found his love of cycling once again, he was clear in his reply.
“It wasn’t only the Tour de France,” he said. “But now I’ve started enjoying cycling and started to watching it again. Although now it’s too expensive to watch so I don’t want it anymore!”
For those who can afford to watch cycling on TNT Sports, they might be about to see a lot of Tom Pidcock victories in the following three weeks, starting with stage one. “The first stage will be a bit open and I think there could be a mixture of guys in it,” he said.
