Ambitions are high and talk is cheap in January, before the bike racing season has truly got going. However, when Tom Pidcock says that a win in Sunday’s world cyclo-cross championship might be the first step in a hat-trick of world titles this year, it’s far more than mere motivational talk. At 22, the Yorkshire racer’s career has already been so prolific, his improvement curve so steeply inclined, that it’s hard to be sceptical.
First up, Sunday, when Pidcock will start as favourite in the cyclo-cross in Fayetteville, Arkansas, hoping to add to his junior title from 2017 and his under‑23 rainbow jersey from 2019. He came close to winning twice last weekend in his final warm-up races and believes he will kick on this week. “I’d come off a big block of training and didn’t back off going into the races, it wasn’t exactly what I’d planned but it wasn’t a big issue. After a bit of rest and getting over the jet lag I’ll be good this weekend.”
