Five wins in four seasons, so Pidcock needs to step up his game: "He's getting paid like a grand tour winner"

Tom Pidcock is approaching the final races of his fourth season in road racing, with only one win to his name this entire year — albeit a big one: the Amstel Gold Race. According to former riders Johan Bruyneel and George Hincapie, this is far too little given his talent. The two discussed this on the podcast The Move.

"Pidcock has only five road wins," Hincapie said, almost incredulous. "Pogacar (Tadej, ed.) has won five times, just since we started this podcast." Bruyneel sees where the issue lies with Pidcock. "I've said this before: it would be a great idea for Pidcock to fully commit to road cycling. He’s already been a cyclo-cross world champion and a two-time Olympic champion in mountain biking, which is huge. He still calls it his favorite discipline, just like Van der Poel (Mathieu, ed.). But now, honestly, it's time for him to focus on road racing."

"He's an enormously talented rider. With the remark about five wins, I didn’t mean to insult him," Hincapie added. "But he needs to either focus more on the road, or earn less money. He can win as many cyclo-cross or mountain bike races as he wants, but I don't think that French number two (Victor Koretzky, ed.) at the Olympics earns four million pounds a year. He's paid like a grand tour contender." Bruyneel went even further: "He's paid like a grand tour winner."

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Pidcock set for debut in Tour of Lombardy

Although Pidcock has a contract with INEOS Grenadiers through 2027, rumors persist that he might leave the British team. Due to his personal sponsor Red Bull, he is often linked with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. Recently, however, the notable name of Q36.5 has been circulating. This Swiss team competes at the ProTeam level on the second tier. Whether Pidcock stays or not, Bruyneel has clear advice for his employer. "If I were his current or potential new team, I would say: you need to fully focus on the road now. You have the talent for it. Let’s go for that."

Recently, Pidcock, still dealing with the aftereffects of a concussion, was unable to impress at the Road World Championships in Switzerland. A week later, however, he returned much stronger, finishing second in the Giro dell'Emilia, behind an unbeatable Pogacar. Pidcock is set to race in the Tour of Lombardy this coming Saturday. It will be his first participation in the autumn monument.