The podium placings had begun rolling for Tom Pidcock and his Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling team in the early season races but the top spot had been illusive, so the relief was clear as the British rider changed that on Sunday on the final stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía.
The final ascent of the Alto de la Primera was where Pidcock made his move, with the team massing on the front ahead of the launch with 1km still to go to the top.
“I knew today was going to be tricky because the climb was so fast. You know, it was over 30k an hour average on this climb,” said Pidcock in a team statement.
“Once at the hardest point, I said to myself, I’m just going to attack. I think [Jan] Christen followed me for a little bit and then I managed to gap him and held on to the finish. I just had to keep going to the finish.”
Then, just days later at Clásica Jaén the Pinarello Q36.5 leader was denied the top spot once again by UAE Team Emirates-XRG and this time Pidcock was taking off his jacket when a key split occurred. Pidcock initially thought his race was over at this point but then bridged to the move. Still, Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) had already gone by that point and was beyond reach so, despite his evident strength, it was second for Pidcock.
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