Tom Pidcock’s end-of-season ambitions have been hit by a crash on the Tour of Britain and a concussion prognosis, with the Ineos Grenadiers rider admitting that ‘non-performance’ points within the workforce are nonetheless distracting him from racing.
Pidcock gained a second consecutive gold medal within the mountain bike occasion on the Paris Olympics however then struggled within the street race per week later. He admitted that he was “mentally a bit frazzled” as a consequence of experiences and hypothesis about his future at Ineos Grenadiers.
He was reportedly linked to a transfer away from the workforce in the course of the summer time, with solutions that he doesn’t get together with Director of Racing Steve Cummings, who was surprisingly left at residence or the Tour de France. It seems Pidcock will now keep at Ineos however the switch speak and issues contained in the workforce have been a distraction.
Pidcock was in an early break on the ultimate stage of the Tour of Britain however then crashed exhausting. A variety of riders from the Tour of Britain have been as a consequence of journey to Canada through Paris on Tuesday however Pidcock will now miss the 2 races and spend time at residence to get better from concussion.
“Following the crash in stage six of the Tour of Britain, we are able to affirm that Tom Pidcock has sustained a concussion. He’ll return residence for restoration and stay beneath the supervision of our medical workforce while he follows our concussion ‘return to coaching’ protocol,” Ineos mentioned in a social media publish.
“Sadly this may imply he’s unable to race within the upcoming Canadian races. We want Tom a speedy restoration and hope he will likely be again to racing quickly.”
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec will likely be held on Friday, September 13, with the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sunday, September 15.
Tadej Pogačar, Michael Matthews, Julian Alaphilippe and quite a few different riders are utilizing the 2 World Tour races as an essential build-up to the UCI street World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland on September 29.
Pidcock was anticipated to lead Nice Britain in Zurich, alongside Tour of Britain winner Stevie Williams.
Pidcock has loved a rollercoaster 2024 season, successful the Amstel Gold Race and Olympic gold but additionally struggling on the Tour de France earlier than catching COVID-19. His many skills make it troublesome for Pidcock to decide on between mountain biking, the cobbled classics and Grand Tour racing. He has hinted he’ll give attention to street racing within the season to return.
“Like in so many seasons, there are constructive and unfavourable features. It’s simply so rattling exhausting to win. There are solely a small variety of riders who win nearly all of the races and I wish to be certainly one of them. That isn’t the case now and that has to alter,” Pidcock advised Het Laatste Nieuws on the Tour of Britain.
When requested if he endured an absence of freedom at Ineos, Pidcock reportedly mentioned: “It is true that there are a selection of issues throughout the workforce that I’ve to take care of in the mean time. And to be trustworthy, they do not assist me to carry out optimally.
“I’ve to consider much more than simply performance-related issues in the mean time. And that signifies that the give attention to the issues which are actually essential, specifically racing, is just not supreme.”
Requested if it was a matter of the workforce’s construction, Pidcock mentioned: “I believe I might higher not say something extra about this.”
Requested if there’s a probability he’ll change groups, he mentioned: “I’ve a contract till the tip of 2027. I am unable to say extra.”
