Tom Pidcock may not have enjoyed quite the finish at La Flèche Wallonne that many people expected of him, but the young British rider was tested with a late crash and kept calm.
The Ineos Grenadiers man, who has made a big impression in just a couple of months in the pro ranks, came down in a group crash with just under 28km to go today, with Philippe Gilbert (Lotto-Soudal) also involved.
Pidcock (21) seemed to have a problem with his bike and took a bit longer to get going than the others after his fall. And when he was back on his bike and chasing, he took his foot out of his right shoe to readjust it.
At that moment, alongside his team car, he came up against the Groupama-FDJ car parked on the roadside but managed to negotiate that and got going again, spending less than 5km off the back.
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However, the incident would have taken a bit out of him and in the final climb to the finish line up the Mur de Huy he didn't have the same punch as the top riders and had to settle for 6th on the day.
Richard Carapaz, who went on the attack late in the race, was next best finisher for Ineos Grendiers in 9th with Eddie Dunbar a non-finisher after working for the team early in the race. Pidcock's fellow British rider Ben Tullett, though aged just 19 years, took a fantastic 12th place for Alpecin Fenix.
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