Tom Pidcock proved himself to be one of the most multifaceted riders of his generation, adding the UCI Mountain Bike World Championship title at the 2023 elite men's race in Scotland.
Having won the UCI Cyclocross Worlds and the Alpe d'Huez stage of the Tour de France last year, won Strade Bianche and landed podiums in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Amstel Gold Race and raced as a co-GC contender for Ineos Grenadiers at the Tour this year, what kind of rider is he: off-road, Classics or Grand Tour?
"I don't have to choose, do I," was the Briton's response when asked by Cyclingnews.
There aren't enough superlatives to put beside the 24-year-old's name, and he put in yet another remarkable performance at Glentress Forest in Scotland on Saturday. Starting on the fifth row, it took him little time to find his way to the front of the bunch before going off in pursuit of the early leaders.
Mid-race, he was at the front together with South Africa's Alan Hatherly and 10-time World Champion Nino Schurter (Switzerland) and, on the penultimate lap, stormed away on a climb.
As Hatherly and Schurter cracked, New Zealander Sam Gaze came on strong from behind, and relegated the Swiss rider to the bronze medal.
The British rider could feel the pressure coming from behind as Gaze came as close as 14 seconds to reaching Pidcock, but couldn't make the catch.
Pidcock said he could only relax and soak in the cheers of his home crowd when he came to the line because some slipping gears.
"Before that, the last few laps were so stressful. My gears were not working well. In the last lap, they were jumping up every climb, and I couldn't get in a rhythm. And Gaze was coming. And it was. I thought it could all go in the bin at any moment."
"It was frustrating because I couldn't go how I wanted to, I had to kind of pick my gear and stay in it. I was being careful. I looked at my bike now, it's not loose. So I don't know what happened."
There was drama leading up to the race when the UCI overnight altered the rules for the starting grid, putting Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) on the line in 34th, one position behind Pidcock. The change angered the seasoned mountain bike community, with multiple riders signing an open letter to the UCI in protest.
Van der Poel crashed out before it could prove to be an advantage, while Pidcock added his name to those opposed to the change. He raced and won the World Cup in Nové Mesto in May in order to get a better starting position for Worlds.
"It's bullshit," he responded rapidly when asked about the move. "It wasn't for me, was it? They just added me so that someone was right in front of me. I think it's pretty outrageous. If a rule like that needs to be put in place, it needs to be put in place on the first of January. I sacrificed three weeks of preparation for the Tour to try and get some points for the mountain bike race. And then this week, they changed the rule. And you can't do that."
Pidcock went into the Tour de France as one of Ineos Grenadiers' overall hopefuls but, unlike in 2022, he didn't come away with a stage win but showed promise with a solid finish in 13th overall behind Jonas Vingegaard.
He shifted his focus immediately following the Tour to prepare for the MTB race, skipping out on a road race Worlds course that could have suited him well.
"It's difficult coming from the Tour and keeping focused for an event like this, where it's completely different. Mentally it's pretty hard. Even though I love riding my mountain bike, and it's enjoyable."
Now with a second elite world title after his 2022 victory in the UCI Cyclocross World Championships, he will debut the jersey at the World Cup in Andorra at the end of August and then Snowshoe and Mont Sainte-Anne in late September.
