'I'm more like I used to be' - Tom Pidcock back to roots and ready to set the bar higher at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Tom Pidcock of Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team pictured during a press conference of Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, Friday 28 February 2025, in Waregem, ahead of this weekend's one-day cycling race Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, opening race of the Flemish classic one day races season. BELGA PHOTO DAVID PINTENS (Photo by DAVID PINTENS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP).

After runaway success in his early season campaign with his new team, Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) heads into the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad feeling upbeat about his chances and pleased to find himself back on familiar terrain in the cobbles of Flanders. And at the same time, as he put it, racing more than ever like he always used to do.

Just in his pro years, Belgium was where Pidcock took his first-ever pro win against a certain Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) in 2021 in the Brabantse Pijl. It was also where he took his best Monument finish - second in Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2023  - and of course, Q36.5's head coach and Pidcock's trainer Kurt Bogaerts is Belgian.