Kurt Bogaerts, the former Irish team manager and An Post-Chainreaction DS, says Tom Pidcock will ride the World Cyclocross Championships aiming to win and ultimately wants world titles in all three disciplines.
The British star, whom Bogaerts is personally mentoring at Ineos Grenadiers, is already Olympic MTB champion - taking gold in Tokyo in July aged just 21 years - and was U23 MTB world champion last year.
On the road he has also already been world champion - in the junior TT in 2017 - and was 6th in the elite road race at the worlds this year in Belgium. In cyclocross he was world champion as a junior, in 2017, as an U23 in 2020 and won silver in the elite worlds last year.
Speaking about Pidcock's big race programme in the next few months, Bogaerts says the British rider may start below par in his first cyclocross races next month as he has had a break from racing. However, he was only planning to go to the US for the worlds at the end of January because he had victory in mind.
Advertisement
“Fayetteville is a course with opportunities for Tom, we saw that at the World Cup race,” Bogaerts told Het Laatste Nieuws of the Worlds course in the US. “If he makes the crossing to the United States, it's not just to participate.
"His ultimate goal is to become world champion in three disciplines," he added in reference to cyclocross, road and MTB. Bogaerts said Pidcock would start his cyclocross campaign at Superprestige Boom in Belgium on December 4th.
"I don't expect much from it, it's been a long break. But he is really looking forward to it," said Bogaerts. “We keep racing because it's good for him. But it's not possible to be top all the time.
Related News
"The road season is becoming increasingly important. If there is also a Grand Tour in it, then he commits robbery on his body with a specific preparation for the cross.”
Pidcock will ride 12 major cyclocross races from December 4th to January 23rd, followed by the Worlds in Fayetteville on January 30th.
He will race at least twice each week - including Superprestige and seven World Cup rounds. The only break from racing he will have will be almost three weeks - for a training camp in Calpe - between World Cup Hulst on January 2nd and X2O Trofee Hamme on January 22nd.
Pidcock's Plan: Big winter
December
4th Telenet Superprestige Boom; 5th Antwerp World Cup; 12th Val di Sole World Cup; 18th Rucphen World Cup; 19th Namur World Cup; 26th Dendermonde World Cup; 27th Telenet Superprestige Heusden-Zolder; 29th Telenet Superprestige Diegem.
January
1st X2O Trophy Baal; 2nd Hulst World Cup; 22nd X2O Trophy Hamme; 23rd Hoogerheide World Cup; 30th Fayetteville World Cyclocross Championships.
