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Be right back, just looking up where we can buy Tom Pidcock posters
This year has been a write off for most, but not for Tom Pidcock. The 21-year-old has been in unstoppable form across road, cyclo-cross and cross-country mountain biking.
You know the story: it's 2020, there's a pandemic on. Everything's getting cancelled all the time.
For professional cycling, things came to a halt just as they were supposed to be getting started, with races and events around the world paused, curtailed or scrapped.
All wasn’t lost, though. A block of racing did return – squeezed between August and November – but events looked and felt different, with an intense schedule of activity pitting the professionals against each other and their bodies’ ability to recover. Fans were kept at arm's length, while still being able to follow the action on Red Bull TV, at least.
And amid all of the chaos, one cyclist was having a whale of a time: Tom Pidcock finished in first place in almost every race he entered. Competing across cyclo-cross (CX), road cycling, cross-country mountain biking (XCO) and e-racing, the 21-year-old Brit had a season to remember, finishing with two World Champions jerseys (to add to the other three in his collection) and iconic wins in all four disciplines.
And he’s not finished yet, either. His return to CX for the 2020/21 season has already seen him return his first-ever elite win on the international stage at Superprestige Gavere – a result he said proved he had, "come of age".
While 2021 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the British rider – with the Games and his debut season with WorldTour team INEOS Grenadiers still to come – this year has certainly been one to remember. Here are some of his best results from 2020...
1. Podium spot at CX World Championships
After winning all he could in the U23 ranks, Tom Pidcock decided to take the jump up to the elites at the start of the 2019/20 CX season. The then 20-year-old went toe-to-toe with some of the sport's most established names throughout the UCI World Cup season, finishing within the top 10 in four of the five World Cup races he entered, but a podium eluded him. That was until the final – and biggest – race of his ‘cross campaign, the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Bern, Switzerland.
Aiming for a spot in the top five, he put in a performance that showed he belonged in the elites, finishing second behind Mathieu van der Poel as the Dutchman picked up his third rainbow jersey. Although Pidcock finished his debut elite CX season without a win on the international stage, the result was evidence that he could hold his own in the senior class.
2. Dominant win at iconic U23 stage race
Pidcock won three of the eight stages
© Trinity Racing
Not long after Pidcock’s impressive display on Bern’s mud-soaked World Championships course, the cycling world came to a standstill. Faced with months of lockdown at home and e-racing the only form of competition on offer, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if it had taken Tom a few starts to get his eye in when real-life racing resumed.
A 4th-placed finish in the U23 European Continental Championships Individual Time Trial was proof that the shutdown hadn't had too many ill effects. It also meant that Tom entered the Giro d’Italia’s under-23 iteration, the Baby Giro, in great form.
The Brit came to the fore midway through the eight-stage race with an emphatic win on day four and held onto the pink jersey all the way to Aprica, picking up another two stage wins en route.
3. Dazzling debuts in XCO World Cups
Pidcock powered through from the back to win both U23 races in Nové Město
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
CX and road seasons complete, it was time for him to turn his attention to cross-country MTB – a discipline that he had only a handful of starts in. Most wouldn’t have a hope in hell of being competitive on the world stage with such inexperience, but Pidcock isn’t like most people.
Starting from the back of the grid in Nové Mesto, Czech Republic, the reigning U23 British national champion (a title he secured in only his fourth XCO race) soon picked off the competition, working his way to the front of the pack to win emphatically on his debut. The following day, he did it all again, making it two out of two at the 2020 UCI XCO World Cup. The mountain bike world took notice of this roadie with off-road skills, and no one was surprised with what happened next...
4. Back-to-back World Championships in Leogang
Tom Pidcock took a well deserved win at the 2020 World Champs
© Bartek Woliński/Red Bull Content Pool
As the dust settled on his demolition of the competition in the Czech Republic, Pidcock made his way to Austria for his debut mountain bike World Championships. Could the Brit add to his already impressive collection of rainbow jerseys? There could only really be one answer.
Up first was the E-MTB XC – a relatively new introduction to the World Championships proceedings – where he would be going up against the elites, including the likes of Simon Andreassen, Sven Nys and 2019’s runner-up Jérôme Gilloux. He built from a strong start, consistently putting in fastest laps to work his way through the pack before making his winning move on the fifth and final lap.
Three days later, the batteries were put away and it was a return to U23 XCO – and World Championship number two for Pidcock in Leogang. As in Nové Mesto, he showed his abilities from the off, leading the race from lap two and building a commanding winning margin of almost two minutes by the time he crossed the finish line.
5. A show of strength at Superprestige Gavere
Emotions were on display as Pidcock took his first elite CX win
© Luc Claessen / Getty
Most professional cyclists would have hung up their cleats for the year after the season that Tom Pidcock has had. But he isn’t like most professional cyclists. After a short post-Worlds off-season, Pidcock was back training for the return of CX racing in Europe. And after a successful debut season in the elites, the focus was now on securing his first win.
He didn’t have to wait long to do it. Three race weekends into his 2020/21 CX season, Pidcock was standing on the top step of the podium at Superprestige Gavere, having ridden away from the chasing pack in his now trademark fashion. If that wasn’t impressive enough, the rider in second place – 25 seconds back – was none other than reigning CX World Champion Mathieu van der Poel.
