Tom Pidcock has decided to skip the cyclocross season entirely, for the first time in his career, so he can focus on the 2025 road season and settle into his new team, Q36.5 Pro Cycling, before racing kicks off next year.
Though Pidcock had taken a more conservative approach to his cyclocross racing in recent years, he still competed and also rode MTB, meaning road was one of three disciplines; something that looked unsustainable if we wanted to win more road races.
He has now confirmed he will miss the full cyclocross season and has made his announcement as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) are about to get back into action and do battle with each other.
"On Sunday I watched my first cyclocross of the this season and it reminded me I should probably officially mention that, this year, I will not race cyclocross," Pidcock said in a message on social media.
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"With a lot of change I want to make sure I have the time to settle into a new environment to get to know my new team and teammates well. But so far my plan will be to return to the field next year."
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Though Van Aert and Van der Poel had also backed off on their cyclocross racing schedule in recent years, with a view on preparing for their primary road goals, they have both opted for short sharp campaigns in the weeks ahead.
They will meet a total of four times, starting next Monday, December 23rd, at Superprestige Mol. They will also race against each other at Exact Cross Loenhout on December 27th, and the UCI Cyclocross World Cup rounds in Dendermonde and Hoogerheide on January 5th and 26th.
While world champion Van der Poel is likely to hit the ground running, and may win ever race he rides up to the Worlds in early February, Van Aert's first race may produce more subdued performances.
The Belgian was forced to cut his season short after crashing out of La Vuelta on September 3rd. The nature of his knee injury meant a slow return to full training, meaning his condition is likely to be behind Van der Poel's.
However, the duo will be a major draw over the Christmas-New Year period and will add star quality to the 'cross campaign, though it has been exciting to date.
