He's the reigning junior national, European and world cyclocross champion, has been described as the "mini-Sagan" and an "English wonder-boy" by Belgian press, and now WorldTour outfit Trek-Segafredo have supposedly tabled a joint contract offer to sign Tom Pidcock
The 17-year-old, from Leeds, has enjoyed a quite remarkable 12 months, making his name predominately in the cross scene, but also impressing on the road domestically and internationally, most notably winning the Philippe Gilbert Road Race last September, a mini version of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
His palmarès, his incredible bike handling skills (just take a look at his Instragam videos), and his talent across disciplines have earned him admirers all across the Continent, with cyclocross legend Sven Nys describing him "as the next Peter Sagan of international cycling".
The now-retired Nys, a two-time world champion who many say is the greater cross rider of all time, has courted Pidcock for sometime, with him wanting to sign him for his own cyclocross team, Telenet-Fidea Lions.
He confirmed in early January that he had already spoken to the PH-Mas-Paul Milnes-Oldfield rider. "Of course we are interested in such a talent," he said.
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It is reported by Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws that Nys met with Pidcock at the Middelkerke round of the Superprestige at the weekend and offered him a joint contract along with Trek-Segafredo.
Aware that Pidcock has road aspirations, he invited Luca Guercilena, manager of Trek-Segafredo, along to the discussion.
"There are some possibilities, yes," Nys said in reference to racing cross for Telenet-Fidea Lions and linking up with Trek.
"We have made a joint offer: during the winter would run for Telenet-Fidea Lions and Luca Guercilena will give him opportunities on the road during the summer ."
"Pidcock has ambitions both on the circuits and on the road. That's why, if I want to have him, I have to be able to make a wider offer and that's why I invited Luca Guercilena to be with us.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post after his World Championships win in Bieles, Pidcock - who is also a member of the British Cycling Junior Academy team and has had success on the track, too - said: “I want to be, ultimately, elite world champion on the road and at cyclocross.
"And obviously I want to be a WorldTour road rider – riding the Tour de France and the Classics like Paris-Roubaix, and races like that.
"I do think cyclocross and road racing are quite similar. With cross riding, in the past, cross-riders have gone on to the road and they have gone on to be some of the best riders in the world, so I think they do overlap quite a bit and I did all right last year. Hopefully this year I can do even better.”
