Tom Pidcock will be spending Christmas alone as he continues to chase cyclocross podiums in Belgium.
The British rider (Trinity Racing) has been focussed on his CX ambitions this winter, competing with star Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix).
Pidcock’s winter campaign has been hugely successful so far, after he beat Van der Poel in the Telenet Superprestige Gavere and then took third in the World Cup round in Namur.
But Pidcock’s success has come with sacrifice, as he said he hasn’t seen his family or his girlfriend since November, and he will be spending Christmas alone in Belgium.
The 21-year-old said in Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws: “I will celebrate Christmas on my own. I don’t see my family and my girlfriend very often. The last time was in November. It’s not all about Christmas. I will stay in Belgium until the cross from Hulst (January 3) and then I will go to training camp with Ineos. ”
Next season will be a major turning point for rising star Pidcock, as will be making the jump to the WorldTour with British super-team Ineos Grenadiers.
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On his performance in Namur last weekend, where Pidcock finished behind winner Van der Poel and Van Aert, he said: “I felt there was more in me in the last lap. It was about the feeling that Wout van Aert had. I didn’t know how strong I was. I had set my mind on winning by a lead.
“If I had won, I wouldn’t have learned anything.
“I learned a lot by not winning. I have learned that I need to have more confidence in the last lap. Wout and Mathieu are now riders I have to race, not those I have to look up to. If I had believed in myself more, I could have finished second.”
