Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) came into Strade Bianche with clear intentions, saying "my goal is to try and win" the race where Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was a heavy favorite, so it was hardly a surprise that Pidcock would feel "bittersweet" when he ultimately had to settle for runner-up honors on the day. After all, Pidcock has won this very race before, soloing to victory in spectacular fashion just two years ago.
And yet ... that Pidcock was able to even come as close as he did on Saturday might say more about his talents, his future potential, and his current place in the sport than even that win did.
As a disappointed Pidcock said himself after the race, he came closer this time to besting Pogačar than he had before. And while Pidcock might not have been speaking about anything more than his own record against Pogačar, we will: It also felt closer than anyone else has come in more than a year to beating Pogačar in a race that Pogačar has targeted.
"It was pretty close in the end, you know, a lot closer than in previous attempts to beat Tadej. It was a lot closer, but not close enough," he said, as Cyclingnews reports.
"This is what I hope for. I knew I was in good shape, I think I'm in the best shape I've ever been in and it was nice to be in the race for so long with him."
Indeed, that is what the cycling world in general should hope for. After a year of utter dominance by the Slovenian superstar, Saturday's race offered some reminders of Pogačar's humanity, and Pidcock played the central role in exposing those cracks, even if Pogačar still managed to do what everyone expected him to do.
When Pidcock stormed to his impressive win back in 2023, he did so ahead of a field from which Pogačar was conspicuously absent. A little over a year later, Pidcock won the Amstel Gold Race, once again with no Pogačar in sight. Pidcock can't be blamed for Pogačar's scheduling decisions, of course, and he deserves full credit for taking those big wins – but it is equally true that it was still fair to question Pidcock's credentials as a bona fide challenger to Pogačar in the hilly races where the Slovenian seems to stand entirely alone.
Pidcock may have finished this year's Strade Bianche 1:24 down on the defending champion, but he took the race to his rival on the very place where Pogačar left the field behind last year, making the bold decision to actually attack on the Monte Sainte Marie rather than simply watching Pogačar ride away and then settling into the battle for second. From there, Pidcock hung with Pogačar – as did breakaway survivor Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) for at least a little while – meaning that Pogačar could not simply cruise into Siena solo.
With more company in tow than he might have expected, Pogačar made a wholly unforced error and crashed out of the group on a high-speed descent, injecting drama into a race that had been decided from so, so far out the year before. With hindsight, we know he overcame the mishap to triumph in the end; Pogačar caught back up to Pidcock and the two rode together for a while until Pogačar's superior firepower on Le Tolfe proved too much for Pidcock to handle. Still, in those minutes where Pidcock was alone up the road, it really felt like we had a race on our hands.
To put it another way, Pidcock raced to win Strade Bianche when so many others have practically admitted defeat from the gun against Pogačar, and it really did seem like a possibility that Pidcock would win at one point. As far as Pidcock is concerned, Saturday showed us that his own confidence in his abilities and his team's confidence in their new investment are well-founded.
Even as runner-up, he was still nearly a minute ahead of Pogačar's teammate Tim Wellens in third, with Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) nearly two minutes behind the Brit. Pidcock's margin to the non-Pogačar field was thus significantly great than it was after his stunning solo victory in 2023, where he won by "only" 20 seconds.
It may feel bittersweet at the moment, but surely Pidcock will come away from this race with a sense of accomplishment and the confidence that he can keep trying to be the one applying pressure to Pogačar until it actually works out, perhaps on a slightly different profile or even just on a different day when Pogačar isn't quite at his best for one reason or another. Classics contender Tom Pidcock, lest there was any doubt, is the real deal.
As far as cycling in general is concerned, Pidcock's surge on the Monte Sainte Marie and his subsequent ability to hang with the best rider in the world at least for a while felt like a breath of fresh air. Apparently, not everyone is content to battle for minor placings behind Pogačar, who is apparently at least kind of human. Sure, he recovered from his crash, made a herculean effort to drop Pidcock, and went on to win, but Pidcock put him under pressure and Pogačar made a big mistake out on the road, leading to a race that was far less of a foregone conclusion than it was last time around.
If the race were perhaps a bit shorter and perhaps a bit less challenging – organizers have continually ratcheted up the difficulty in recent years – Pogačar might have found himself in more trouble after crashing out of the lead group, with less of a chance to leverage his otherworldly power numbers in a comeback effort. What ifs won't change the fact that he won in the end, but they should give Pidcock and perhaps other rivals reason to believe in their chances a bit more in the Classics to come.
Maybe, just maybe, other riders will take note of Pidcock's performance and actually try to attack Pogačar in the future before he simply leaves them all behind. If so, the biggest winners will be those of us watching and waiting for someone to step up to the challenge.
Did we do a good job with this story?
