In the aftermath of his second career podium finish at the Amstel Gold Race, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) acknowledged he 'lacked a little bit' in the final stages of the 253.6km event, where he rode to third place behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and runner-up Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost).
"I had absolutely nothing left at the end there," Pidcock said after Sunday's race. "I struggled with the distance perhaps this year but it was alright until then I guess."
The WorldTour one-day race in the Netherlands saw a powerhouse group get clear with 90km still to go, and then Pidcock and Healy followed Pogačar as the two-time Tour de France winner attacked on the Eyserbosweg. Shortly thereafter, however, Pogačar dropped both of them with just under 30km to go. The pair of chasers initially rode together but ultimately Healy dropped Pidcock, though Pidcock narrowly held on to take third place ahead of Andreas Kron (Lotto Dstny).
Though it wasn't a victory, the performance marked another solid ride in the event for Pidcock after he rode to second place in his debut appearance in 2021. The finale was a challenge for him this time amid a spring campaign that has had its ups and downs. The 23-year-old Brit was imperious in his Strade Bianche win in March, but he sustained a concussion at Tirreno-Adriatico and missed Milan-San Remo. He has since been working his way back to to his best.
All things considered, he looked strong racing in the Netherlands on Sunday, but as he put it, "the last 20k was a long, long way for me there."
Ineos Grenadiers won last year's edition of the race with Michal Kwiatkowski. This time, it was up to Pidcock and Magnus Sheffield, both riders jumping into the decisive move with roughly two hours still to go.
"It was certainly a good situation," Pidcock said of the Ineos Grenadiers' push to put two riders in the front group. "I think the idea was the get Magnus up the road and I thought it was very strange with the break being caught so early, and I just thought I'd go. I was feeling a bit blocked from the rain.
"I opened myself up a little and kept warm, and then we found ourselves off the front with 100k to go. Everyone knew it was far to go in the break so at some points we thought we were going to get caught. That made it hard."
Also making it hard was the man who would go on to win the race. Pogačar, still just 24, in this season alone has now won the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior, three stages and the overall at the Ruta del Sol, three stages and the overall at Paris-Nice, a fourth career Monument title at the Tour of Flanders, and now the Amstel Gold Race.
Pidcock could only tip his cap after the race but also seemed content with his current form.
"When he goes, he goes hard. There's sometimes nothing you can do about it," Pidcock said of Pogačar. "I think it was good today, just at the end I lacked a little bit."
At the end of the day, the podium performance in a major one-day race should be a confidence booster ahead of Pidcock's next major objectives in the Ardennes. He is set to line up at La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday before taking aim at a Monument on Sunday at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
