Update: Tom Pidcock to Make MTB Return at Albstadt World Cup

May 3, 2022 at 5:20
by James Smurthwaite  
Tom Pidcock clawed back 90-something positions and by the second lap was sitting in sixth. He d finish the day one better and on the podium.

Update:

Tom's participation has now been confirmed by his Ineos Grenadiers team:



Original Story:

Olympic Champion, Tom Pidcock, has hinted that he will be returning to mountain bike World Cup racing in Albstadt.

Pidcock missed the first round of the series in Petropolis as he was racing the Spring Classic road races. However, as he is not part of Ineos Grenadiers Giro D'Italia squad, he now has a gap in his season that he could fill with a return to mountain bike racing. Pidcock posted an Instagram story yesterday that showed him training on his mountain bike with the caption "MTB Soon". He also appears on the entry list for the Albstadt race, which he didn't for Petropolis.

Pidcock embarked on his elite World Cup season last year and Albstadt was his first race. In that race, he shocked the XC World Cup established order as he overtook scores of riders to move up from the 11th row of the grid to finish fifth despite a puncture. After that race, he went on to take his first World Cup win in Nove Mesto and then Olympic Gold in Tokyo.
photo



Pidcock won't be the only cross country racer returning from a road program in Albstadt. Victor Koretzky, the winner of two World Cups last year, will be in Albstadt following his transfer to the B&B Hotel /KTM team and Sam Gaze will also be back on knobbly tires after his road block was cut short by a patella knee tendon injury.



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66 Comments
  • 98 0
 Awesome, it will be great to see him back, just let me go update my fantasy xc team...
  • 32 1
 oh wait..
  • 73 2
 Can’t wait to see him at Rampage this year.
  • 2 1
 Last year's best trick, followed by the crash was a tough one. Looking forward to seeing Tom on the podium this year.
  • 14 0
 Uphill Rampage?
  • 22 1
 I heard he as going to be at Darkfest, but the jumps were not big enough yet.
  • 3 0
 Can't wait to add him to my Rampage fantasy league team...
  • 4 0
 Heard Pidcock is going for the Crankworx triple crown this year too
  • 11 0
 Genuine question... what's this guy's main discipline? same for MVDP... i just see them training and training, participating and winning in road and CX, destroying XC, but never a full season, they still get the best Sponsorship deals, I mean INEOS and not committed to ride a brand of bike.
  • 63 1
 Their main discipline is winning. It clearly doesn't matter to them or their sponsors if they ride a full season in a particular discipline or not, and why should it matter? In road cycling there's hardly such a thing anyway with the standalone spring classics and pick-and-choose Grand Tours.
  • 31 2
 Tom Pidcock has said (somewhere) that he was made to ride a mountain bike. So I would say mountain bike is where his heart is at.
The three disciples are so different though.
CX the strongest almost always wins.
MTB the strongest mostly wins
Road the strongest sometimes wins.
This is why road cycling is so good. Anyone of the top 50 riders can win any road race. In XCO it's a half dozen, in CX it's one or two..
  • 11 0
 @Mike-Jay: Ya, he wants to mountain bike, but road racing makes so much more money than XC its too hard to pass up. I think even CX gets more money and attention than XC.
  • 5 1
 Their discipline is to be strong AF regardless of what bike they throw a leg over.
  • 1 0
 At this point, guys like MVDP and Pidcock are so strong that they can be successful at most/all disciplines. That gives them negotiating power so my guess is they are riding what they want, when they want to. Most guys dont have that kind of influence but their star power and proclivity at winning likely allows them to dictate that to teams. And the teams are more than happy to oblige because of the visibility it brings in addition to wins/podiums. Seems to me like they don't know or care what their 'main discipline' is but rather just enjoying racing what they want.
  • 1 0
 @hamncheez: Not sure about Pidcock but MVDP gets around €10k appearance fee for every CX race he attends (except WCs). That would add up quickly when it’s two races a week all winter.
  • 3 0
 @Mike-Jay: thats good money
  • 5 0
 @hamncheez: Pocket change when your annual base salary is 2M+
  • 1 0
 @mi-bike: and probably why both MVDP and WVA are much more selective about the CX races they enter since their salaries hit the big league on the road, WVA especially.
  • 3 0
 @Mike-Jay:
The Rainbow bands showing up get extra from what I've read, so Tom will be getting decent appearance money in the winter.
  • 1 2
 MVDP destroyed everyone at the Olympics? He is a great racer but I would argue that he hasn't been as consistent in MTB as he has in Cross and Road. I wish the best for him though.
  • 2 0
 @ichabodchain: no man, didnt you watch the race?, he fell off a drop and hurt himself, it was pretty big news on this website. Facepalm
  • 12 0
 So happy Koretzky is back. His fitness is going to be great for these races with all the road training he's been doing.
  • 5 0
 Agreed. VK's funny antics made me really start to like him last year. He did so awesome last year. I am stoked to see him, tom pidcock, and Sam Gaze on the start list. Just missing mvdp.
  • 14 1
 Nino overtaking Absalon can wait
  • 7 1
 Same, but his chances just got smaller
  • 8 1
 Nino can beat these guys
  • 2 1
 @Madfella: I don't think so, but i guess we will see on sunday
  • 9 0
 Are we going to see the mystery @SRSuntour electronic suspension again?
  • 1 0
 Interesting to know why Suntour haven't tried mass-marketing it when Live Valve has had issues and Flight Attendant has been really well received. Seems like a missed opportunity.... Or maybe it just didn't work and Pidcock bounced his way to a gold medal!
  • 3 0
 @HankHank:

Even if there were "supply chain issues" keeping it from being available to the masses, you'd think they would like to have it out there as a halo product.
  • 3 0
 the black and white instagram post in this article looks like cable actuated lockout, so maybe not
  • 3 0
 Would this contribute to the grid placings in the World Champs in August?

He's mentioned trying for the CX, MTB and Road World Champs in the same year at some point in his career, and he's already bagged CX
  • 2 0
 I think this is the only year he might be able to do that with MVDP and WVA having sat out CX.
  • 2 0
 I don't think MTB racing was part of his initial schedule. It looks like he needs a change after his (relatively) disappointing beginning of season on road (has been sick, many DNS, DNF). Anyway I won't complain about that and I can't wait to see how Pidcock can manage these 2 races considering that he's not supposed to be in his best shape.
  • 8 5
 Who else is excited to see Gaze jump off the front and blow all his matches and slowly fade back until he finally gets another DNF?
  • 4 1
 Its almost comical how much faster Pidcock is than the rest of WC XC riders. Its like an Olympic athlete entering a high school track meet.
  • 7 0
 dropped MVDP like it was nothing. if his form is there he's unbeatable in XC
  • 1 0
 @daltontheis: clearly doesn't waste time at the hair stylist
  • 6 0
 Is this form not suspicious? I know nothing about him but usually in cycling when one guy has incredible strength that no one else can match there is some sort of dodgy activity going on....no?
  • 8 0
 @humoroususername: It would be more suspicious if he was a mid-pack rider who suddenly became unbeatable.
A certain amount of scepticism should never be discouraged given the history of road in particular, however Pidcock has been a leading competitor throughout his short career.
  • 1 0
 @ROOTminus1: Good point
  • 3 0
 @humoroususername: Not really; he's been like this since he was a Junior; he won a circuit race in Durham on junior gearing against pros...
He's been World Champion in different disciplines as a Junior, U23 & now as an Elite.....
  • 2 0
 @Starch-Anton: Cool, that's good to know. There is always room for exceptional talent. Thanks for the info.
  • 1 0
 @humoroususername: here's a great article from Guy Kesteven on his background if you want to know more:

www.bikeperfect.com/features/bespoken-word-local-hero
  • 4 0
 Tom IS racing Albstadt & Nove Mesto
  • 4 1
 I hope MVDP will be back soon!
  • 2 6
flag makkelijk84 (May 3, 2022 at 6:59) (Below Threshold)
 He won’t, probably never
  • 1 0
 @makkelijk84: And why do you think so?
  • 2 0
 When will the Paris Olympic road race course be announced? If that suits him, I imagine he'll stick to road and CX. If it doesnt, and he thinks he has a better chance at a medal in mtb then expect him back in the year running up to Paris24.
  • 4 0
 He will ride Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France this year. Means he will miss most of the World Cups. Maybe he gives it a go at World Champs or at the last World Cup in Val di Sole. But maybe he is already in off season by then, preparing for CX. The question is if he still has the goal of becoming olympic MTB champion. If yes we will see him next year in the World Cup again.
  • 1 1
 @laupe: found the fun in road cycling he was previously missing there.
  • 1 0
 I think MVDP was racing WCXC to prep for Olympics. Now that it’s over, we won’t see him back until 2024.
  • 1 0
 I don't think he should take that long of a break, as we saw how good he did in the olympics after only participating in two wc that year
  • 6 4
 Pidcock could easily win by a few minutes. Never have i seen anyone climb with such ease, its insane!
  • 5 0
 He’s had an awful road season so far, beset with stomach problems. It will be interesting how the shorter XCO races treat him.
  • 3 0
 @Mike-Jay: Yeah his road season got curtailed by illness and he was playing catch up all spring. Should be flying now.
  • 3 6
 @OnTheRivet: I follow him in Strava, every training he breaks KOMs everywhere, he trains a lot with MVDP, he will be come back very strong, i know people hate strava, but.... nah i dont care.
  • 4 0
 @Mike-Jay:
Yes, he missed some races, pulled out of others. Though he still managed 3rd in Dwars door Vlaanderen, and was at the sharp end of Amstel Gold & Brabantse Pijl.
  • 2 0
 @Starch-Anton: I should have said "awful compared to expectations". A few glimmers amongst a series of abandonments.
For most people it was exceptional.
  • 2 0
 @Narro2: Pros will break us mere mortals' KOMs unless they're on very competitive segments (that other pros have actually given real efforts on). My local long road climb in an out of the way area has only had one pro hit it and he dropped like 10 minutes on the next best rider. I'm sure Pidcock will crush but Strava dominance is not the same as WC race results.
  • 2 0
 @Narro2: I follow both of them and never seen they training together.
  • 2 0
 @Narro2: does he? i've not seen any of his rides with mvdp?
  • 1 0
 @nozes @xrob i cant see further back than may, they had at least one ride last month. and a few last year before MVDP's major accident, but to be fare I misused the word a lot, sorry for the hyperbole.
  • 2 0
 3 great characters and strong riders! Can't wait to watch!
  • 1 0
 so much tom foolery.... but seriously, all these comments, not one about which bike he actually riding? BMC Huge miss
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