Too early for WorldTour deal with British junior sensation Tom Pidcock, says Trek-Segafredo boss

Luca Guercilena confirms that Sven Nys has spoken with junior world champion, but that Pidcock needs to develop in Trek's cyclocross and under 23 teams before joining a WorldTour outfit.

(Image credit: Andy Jones)

Luca Guercilena, the general manager of Trek-Segafredo, says that any deal with young British cyclocross star Tom Pidcock would be would be under Trek's umbrella of teams rather than the senior squad.

The 17-year-old from Yorkshire won the recent World Championships in Luxembourg ahead of his British team-mates, saying afterwards that he wanted to become an elite cyclocross world champion in the future as well as turning professional on the road.

"Sven Nys is dealing with him, so I had a chat with him to see what his goals are," Guercilena told Cycling Weekly.

"I know that he has an eye on the road in the future. But he's 17. It's one thing to have an idea, but you have to see what's realistic. We chatted about those objectives, but nothing in particular. It's more linked to cyclocross."

>>> Who exactly is Tom Pidcock and why is he described as a 'mini-Sagan'?

Guercilena said that it is too early to make a deal with Pidcock to ride in his WorldTour road team. However, Pidcock could join  Nys's Telenet-Fidea Lions cyclocross team, but with a chance to ride in one of Trek's Under 23 teams – one of which is based in Belgium and two in Italy.

"The only connection between our team and Nys's is via Trek," explained Guercilena.

"We can offer him a lot because Trek has a large umbrella over the disciplines. The main goal is cyclo-cross, but if the idea is there to race on the road then we'll evaluate that in the future."

Though 17, other WorldTour teams have an eye on Pidcock. Reportedly, both BMC Racing and Dimension Data have shown interest in bring him into their folds.

Dimension Data's Performance Manager Rolf Aldag said his development team would be interested in someone like Pidcock, which could eventually lead to a step up to the WorldTour team in the future.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.