‘Frozen from the beginning’ – No flying start for Tom Pidcock as temperature shock and crashes cost him at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

It was a day to forget for Tom Pidcock at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday as the British rider suffered badly in the cold weather, with the brutal change in temperatures from his training camp in Chile and the south of Spain taking their toll on the Pinarello-Q36.5 racer.

Riding Omloop for the second time in his career, Pidcock came into the race in top form following his win in the final stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía. But in Belgium, as temperatures dropped to below 10°C in a mixture of freezing rain and gusting winds, things went seriously awry.