Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) may be a dark horse hopeful for the 2023 Tour de France, but he’s already ruled himself out of taking overall honours come Paris. Instead, the Yorkshireman has set his sights on building on his 2022 triumph, when a sensational descent of Alpe d’Huez rocketed him to viral fame and saw him scoop a first ever stage win at the coveted Race Around France.
Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard remain the two favourites to take the yellow jersey, but Pidcock is still determined to push them hard in the GC and put himself in contention with more bold attacking displays – just don’t expect him to be taking top spot in Paris.
Tom Pidcock is ready to challenge for stage victories at the Tour de France. Despite the presence of past winners Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, the multi-talented Brit is setting his sights on glory.
“Of course I want to try and win,” said Pidcock. “I’m not good enough to win the GC this year, but I want to try and win some stages and then see what happens on GC. Maybe at one point we’ll switch tactics and go solely for stages.”
Last year, Pidcock won atop Alpe d’Huez after an impressive display of descending. This year, he’s part of a makeshift Ineos line-up featuring the returning Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodriguez. Eurosport expert Adam Blythe has described the team as having “their worst Tour de France in terms of general classification hopes”.
However, with his ambitions set on stage victories, Pidcock certainly won’t be shying away from the competition when the race kicks off next month. Will Tom Pidcock’s Tour de France dream come true? Only time will tell.
Ineos, formerly Team Sky, rose from the peloton’s depths to sky-high success at the Tour de France. Over the course of five awe-inspiring years – spanning from 2015 to 2019 – Ineos took home the yellow jersey thanks to their formidable team of Chris Froome and Bernal.
However, according to Blythe, this may be a very different year for Ineos: “No GC leader, no chance at the yellow jersey – I don’t see it happening.” With Tom Pidcock as their main contender, Pidcock is more likely to focus on stage racing than fighting for the General Classification title. Furthermore, Bernal is still in a learning process so he isn’t expected to make a substantial impact on the GC. According to Blythe, anything higher than 10th place would be great for Ineos.
This could be a monumental shift for one of cycling’s finest teams as they set their sights on glory through stage hunting instead of the coveted yellow jersey. Will they take home top honours? We can only wait and watch.