Tom Pidcock, the reigning men's cyclocross world champion, will not defend his title next month, the British rider and his team have confirmed. They say Pidcock is so focused on having a strong spring classics campaign that they do not want to undermine his performance there by continuing too deep into the cyclocross season at the highest level.
"Tom won't ride the world championships. We decided that a while ago," said Kurt Bogaerts, part of the Ineos Grenadiers management team who works most closely with Pidcock. "We aim for a good campaign during the spring classics. The world championships are in the way of that."
Related News
Pidcock has been non-committal for some time about riding the Worlds - in Hoogerheide on February 5th - saying, because it was on a little later this year, it was not a certainty he would ride.
Advertisement
However, it was also unlikely he would retain the title, which he won in the US last year when Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) did not ride. Both of those riders have been stronger than Pidcock this season, though the British rider made no mention of that when explaining his decision today.
"I knew for a while I wouldn't be riding. That was a decision made a while ago," Pidcock said today after finishing 2nd GP Sven Nys, where Eli Iserbyt (Bingoal-Pauwels Sauzen) won after Pidcock crashed on the final lap.
"The road season is so much more important to me," Pidcock said of his decision not to ride the cyclocross Worlds. "In 2023 I especially want to perform consistently in those spring Monuments. If I succeed, the results will follow. If you're up front with everything, you get more options."
