A winner of the Baby Giro as an U23 - claiming three stage wins along the way - Tom Pidcock has said he was "emotional" having finally replicated that kind of success as an elite pro rider in Saudi Arabia today.
Now aged 25 years, and in his fifth season as a pro, Pidcock brought his career tally of wins to nine at AlUla Tour, having only claimed six victories during his four years with Ineos Grenadiers despite all his talent and skills.
Though the five-stage AlUla race is UCI ranked 2.1, and the field was far from stacked, the British rider won both hilly stages solo. And when the race split in the crosswinds on two stages, including today's stage 5, he never looked troubled, unlike his general classification rivals.
His success - in capturing his first ever pro stage race win - has come at the first time of asking with new team Q36.6 Pro Cycling. Pidcock's team mate, Matteo Moschetti, provided the icing for the cake by winning the final stage today.
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The Italian claimed victory in a sprint from the group that rode away in the crosswinds after Uno X Mobility split the race at the 30km mark, with Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) one of those missing out as he was distanced.
Pidcock will face bigger names in the weeks and months ahead, and the races he lines up in will be longer and harder. But, having been unhappy and in a slump at Ineos Grenadiers, he has broken out of that moment over the last week.
And the significance of starting well, in what is a career re-set, wasn't wasted on him. He said he was delighted with his own performance, that of the team and just how happy his team mates and staff were with the success.
"To be honest, I'm a bit emotional. It's quite a fairytale, almost. You know, to see how much it means to these guys... it's incredible. And to finish it off like that, it's unbelievable," he said after the end of the race.
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??♂️? A thrilling chase between two pelotons before an intense sprint at the AlUla Camel Cup track! ?
⏪ Relive the last kilometre of stage 5#AlUlaTour ?? pic.twitter.com/UpiyHF2dbK— طواف العلا | ALULATOUR (@thealulatour) February 1, 2025
"Today, how we rode as a team. I didn't know these guys, any of them at all, until December, and some of them I only met in January. So what we already do together, ride together, and how we do it, is incredible actually.
"As an U23, I could do this, but it's taken me a while as an elite. To be honest, it's a big step in my career, if I'm honest, I think," he said.
"The concentration it takes at this level to defend a lead every day... and this isn't a WorldTour race; it's only five days, I definitely realise how hard it is, but I think it's a big step."
Asked if he took renewed confidence, winning immediately for his new team, he said: "Yeah, it's amazing. I can't really describe how it feels. It's like 'Red Bull gives you wings and so does Q36," he joked.
Pidcock said he would now take "a couple of weeks" to train before taking on Ruta del Sol and then 'Opening Weekend' in Belgium.
