Tom Pidcock headed into the final Classic of the spring at Liège-Bastogne-Liège as one of the top favourites for glory on Sunday. However, while Tadej Pogačar was able to surge away on the Col de La Redoute and solo home for a second victory at La Doyenne, the Briton was left ruing his bad luck which saw him use vital strength and energy in a key moment of the race.
He eventually finished tenth in the group that sprinted for third and was brought home by Mathieu van der Poel. Teammate Egan Bernal was in the same group after avoiding any problems and just failing to join Romain Bardet and the fight for second place on the final climb.
Pidcock, who last week won Amstel Gold Race to start Ardennes week with a bang, was caught up in a crash in the peloton with just under 100km to race. He was in the chase group and decided to attack and go deep to go across a 40-second gap to the lead group, only for the race to comeback together from behind.
He reflected later that the incident had struck "at the worst possible moment" as the pace was increasing at the head of the race, also noting that other riders managed to get back thanks to helps from the team car convoy, while he and a select few others had to ride on the exposed roads, often into a headwind.
"That was the worst possible moment," he said of the crash post-race.
"I had to make a huge effort there. I heard that others were able to get back on behind the cars. That's frustrating.
"I went very deep there, using up my own legs. That was a shame because – I didn't say much about it before the race, but I broke all kinds of records during training this week. I was going really well."
Once the race hit Liège after six hours of racing, Pidcock came home in the chase group just over two minutes down on Pogačar and 23 seconds behind second-placed Romain Bardet.
The sprint was on for the final podium spot but Pidcock was boxed in and settled for 10th place, while teammate Egan Bernal also finished among the chasers in 21st.
Bernal impressed by being part of the front group that Pidcock was forced to chase.
"It's so nice to see him racing like this again. He's had to go through more than I can imagine," Pidcock said of his Ineos Grenadiers teammate.
"It was very nice that he was there. Who knows what might have been possible if it had gone smoothly. We could have had two cards to play."
Bernal once again showed signs of being back near his best level following a podium place at the Volta a Catalunya last month.
The 27-year-old Colombian will now ride the Tour de Romandie, which kicks off on Tuesday, where he's aiming for another high placing, which could secure him selection for the Tour de France.
"I think that the crash changed our race a bit. Tom must have waited and changed bikes. We tried our best, but we'll try again next year. I can't wait to come back," Bernal said, according to TuttoBiciWeb.
"I feel good, my training numbers are really good. I've been training more. Last season I wasn't able to do proper training because of my crash and all the recovery stuff.
"This year I've been able to do normal training and I'm feeling really good, so lets see how the season goes.
"If we look at my numbers, I think I'm even better than before my crash, it's just that other people are also better. That's how it is. We have to improve every season to be with the best. I just need to keep doing what i'm doing."
"Now I've got Romandie then preparation for the Critérium du Dauphiné and hopefully I can also go to the Tour de France.”
