Tom Pidcock to begin 2026 in Spain next month ahead of key Classics goals, culminating at Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Tom Pidcock is to begins his season in Spain at the Vuelta a Murcia next month, as part of a 12-race spring programme.

The 26-year-old, in his second season at Pinarello Q36.5, is to take part in three races in Spain in February before Omloop Nieuwsblad on Opening Weekend.

He will then switch to Italy for Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo before riding the Volta a Catalunya in March. His spring will conclude with the hilly Classics, ending at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the "primary objective".

Pinarello Q36.5 are eligible for invites to all WorldTour races this year, mainly thanks to points earned by Pidcock in 2025, and so do not have to wait to be given wildcard invites by race organisers. It is expected that the team, and Pidcock, will line up at the Tour de France in July, but this is yet to be confirmed. He finished third at the Vuelta a España last year, his best ever Grand Tour result.

"My schedule stays quite similar to previous years," Pidcock said in a press release. "But adding in some new races to keep things fresh. But also to give time to training blocks and periodisation to make sure I am ready for the races that matter most."

Last year, Pidcock rode the AlUla Tour and the Ruta del Sol ahead of Omloop, and then rode Tirreno-Adriatico between Strade and San Remo.

In 2026, the Yorkshireman will ride Murcia, which becomes a two-stage race for the first time since 2020, before the one-day race Clásica Jaén. Jaén, a similar race to Strade with gravel sectors, is only in its fifth year, but has boasted Tadej Pogačar and Michał Kwiatkowski as winners in the past; Pidcock has never raced it.

The Pinarello Q36.5 rider will then taken on the Ruta del Dol for the second year in a row. He won stage two there last year, and finished third overall. February concludes at Omloop, where Pidcock's best result is fifth in five attempts.

March begins at Strade Bianche, where Pidcock won in 2023 and finished second behind Pogačar last year, before Milan-Turin and then Milan-San Remo. It will be a debut at the former, and the fifth time at the latter, where he has a best result of 11th.

It is then back to stage racing at the Volta a Catalunya, which Pidcock hasn't raced before, where he will face Jonas Vingegaard and João Almeida, the two main contenders for the Giro d'Italia.

However, it is not more stage racing for Pidcock next, but hilly one-day Classics. His schedule sees him head to Brabantse Pijl, where he won in 2021, and then the Amstel Gold Race, where he won in 2024. He will then tackle La Flèche Wallone, where he finished third last year, before Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a race he has finished second in before.

Tom Pidcock's spring schedule

13-14 February: Vuelta Ciclista a la Región de Murcia
16 February: Clásica Jaén
18-22 February: Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol
28 February: Omloop Nieuwsblad
7 March: Strade Bianche
18 March: Milan-Turin
21 March: Milan-San Remo
23-29 March: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
17 April: Brabantse Pijl
19 April: Amstel Gold Race
22 April: La Flèche Wallonne
26 April: Liège-Bastogne-Liège