Photo: [email protected]
Racing
Ben Goddard for Snowdon Sportsith the expectation
of the world on his
young shoulders, Tom
Pidcock had a day to forget as
thick mud and a possible illness
saw him finish outside the top 10
at the World Championships.
The junior world champion
from last year has seamlessly
moved up to the under-23
category, clinching silver at the
European Championships and
the overall World Cup title.
But the Cauberg would prove
a step too far for the 18-year-old
from Leeds, who didn’t look
himself as he struggled in the
deep mud and steep banks and
finished 15th — almost four
minutes behind the winner.
Pidcock’s woes began on the
opening straight when he pulled
his foot out of the pedal — just
as he had a week earlier in the
final round of the World Cup in
Hoogerheide — but this time
kept upright.
He fell out of the top 10 and from
then on it was an uphill battle as
rivals Eli Iserbyt (Belgium) and
Joris Nieuwenhuis (Holland)
opened up a substantial gap.
Pidcock tried desperately tohold on to the chasers and
took back a few places, but
eventually fell away again in
the final few laps.
At the head of the race Iserbyt,
who Pidcock has beaten on
several occasions this season,
took a fine solo victory with
Nieuwenhuis and Yan Gras
(France) taking silver and bronze.
Pidcock’s fellow junior World
Championships medallists
from last year, Daniel Tullett
and Ben Turner, put in solid
performances to finish 20th and
25th respectively.
“I couldn’t go any harder,”
said a visibly devastated Pidcock
afterwards. “The mud was
nothing to do with it, that was
the course and it was hard. It was
just a day to forget.
“I pulled my pedal out but it
was alright. I should and could
have won today but something
wasn’t right. It was torture to
be honest and I wished I wasn’t
there. I will partly forget about
this race and partly keep it in my
mind for next year.
“I might be ill — this morning
I was coughing — but there is
something wrong with me that’s
for sure. I just kept telling myself
the best is all you can do.”Pidcock
fades in bid
for second
world title
World Cyclo-Cross Championships |
Feb 3-4 | Valkenburg, Netherlands
52 | February 8, 2018 | Cycling Weekly