Tom Pidcock: ‘Wout van Aert was pulling super hard, maybe too hard in the end’
The Ineos Grenadiers rider took his first pro win by outsprinting Van Aert in Brabantse Pijl 2021
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Tom Pidcock says Wout van Aert may have pulled too hard on the front of the group in Brabantse Pijl 2021.
Ineos Grenadiers rider Pidcock launched two decisive moves in the Belgian one-day race, setting up the group of favourites and eventually outsprinting Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) at the line to take his first pro win.
But the 21-year-old said his rival Van Aert may have gone too deep in the closing stages of the race, as Pidcock, Van Aert and Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) held off a chasing group behind.
Speaking after the finish, Pidcock said: “Sprinting at the end of races like that are not the same as sprinting for a town sign, so I always go into those sprints with confidence.
“Wout was pulling super hard every time we got away. I was going full on the front and then I was doing the same watts to stay on his wheel, so he was pulling hard but maybe too hard in the end.”
The result is a major turning point in Pidcock’s career, as it marks his first victory since joining the WorldTour with British squad Ineos at the start of 2020.
Pidcock, a rising star in cyclocross, mountain biking, and now on the road, has raced a full cobbled Classics campaign and hugely impressed on his debut at the highest level.
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After finishing on the podium of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and fifth in Strade Bianche, Pidcock went into Brabantse Pijl with plenty of confidence but without the boost of a victory.
Reflecting on the finish of Brabantse Pijl, Pidcock said: “I was getting nervous because they were coming behind. I waited and waited and Wout went. I got a little bit boxed in but rushed to Wout and came past him.
“We were a little bit on the back foot with this [breakaway] group away and we were running out of guys, so we got to that climb and said to Jumbo we’d pull to the climb and then go across, Trentin came as well and it worked out pretty good in the end.
“I knew I was going well into this race because I finally had a good week’s training with no interruptions last week, so I knew I was going to be good and it’s nice to be good in the race to the finish.”
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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