Tom Pidcock has three Tour de France appearances under his belt but said he "didn't really enjoy" the last two. And he has now strongly suggested he wants to move away from focusing on that race and instead turn to the classics.
He said he had "lost" much of the speed he previously had on the road, and which a rider needs to win races, and he wants to get that back.
After a turbulent year with Ineos Grenadiers - which is in freefall as it undergoes management changes - Pidcock has won just five races on the road over the last four seasons. And while some of those have been big wins, it is a poor return for such a talented rider who is now aged 25 years.
He said he sees some positive changes at Ineos Grenadiers, having almost transferred to Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team in recent weeks. However, he also made frank remarks, conceding he was not in a happier place within the team in terms of clarity going forward.
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But one clear feature to emerge from his on-stage interview with Matt Stephens at Rouleur Live was Pidcock saying several times he did not enjoy many of the bigger races he rode this year. And that included the Olympic MTB race, which he won in great style.
The common theme in his conversation - as well as not enjoying even the highest moments - was the pressure he put on himself, which he said was too much. He also said he spoke about riding for general classification at the Tour de France this year because he believed that was what other people wanted to hear.
For now, he said the issues within his team, which have been difficult for everyone, were hopefully on the way to being resolved. But he pointed out he was yet to win a monument, and big one-day races were what he wanted to focus on, with riding GC at Grand Tours not the big discussed as a goal.
"I’m never gonna lie,” Pidcock said when asked by Stephens if his he path forward now within Ineos Grenadiers was clearer; a question asked as team management sat in the audience.
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"It’s true, we’ve had a difficult year, I’ve had a difficult year. It’s not what we wanted but I do see a lot of positive changes. And, of course, everyone accepts that there are difficulties when you change it. And we’re seeing those changes happening. I do hope that it can be turned around."
While Pidcock took a fantastic stage win at Alpe d'Huez on Tour debut in 2022, he failed to fire in the last two editions. This season, after saying he was aiming to ride GC, he abandoned after stage 13 with illness. And though he had already taken 2nd on a stage, it was a winless Tour for the second year in a row.
"It’s been difficult," he said of this year's Tour. "I didn’t win a stage, the team didn’t have as much success as they used to and it was difficult. I need to try and re-find the feelings I had in the first place. Enjoying it, feeling like I’m part of the race.
"I think part of it was that the expectations grew in the last few years and I didn’t meet them for a multitude of reasons. Expectations grew and I didn't meet them for a multitude of reasons and then it's not enjoyable, you're always trying to enjoy yourself."
He added he had spoken publicly about riding for GC at this year's Tour, because he believed “it was what I needed to say”.
"Everything I've ever been good at I've believed in it, that I can be good at it. I don't say anything that I don't believe. The last few years going to the Tour I haven't known what I wanted. It doesn't create a nice experience. I really want to find what I want to get out of it and be realistic.
"The Tour is the biggest platform to show yourself, and if you're not in the spotlight you're kinda, not irrelevant, but... That's where you want to be, you want to win a stage or be in a jersey.
"I want to get back to enjoy it, going out there and racing and then everything else will follow. Unless you want it yourself then it’s irrelevant.
"I’ve lost that ability, the sprint the speed, that I had two or three years ago, and that’s what I want to find again. My favourite races are the classics, and I haven’t won a monument yet. That’s where I want to focus really."
