'No-one wanted me there' – Tom Pidcock gives up break hunting at Tour de France to focus on general classification
Pinarello Q36.5 riders is eighth overall heading into the final three days
Tom Pidcock will focus on general classification for the rest of the Tour de France, he said, after his attempts to get into the break on stage 18 failed.
The Pinarello Q36.5 rider, who sits eighth overall at the Tour, a result which would be his best ever finish at the French Grand Tour, said post-stage that any attempt from him to get up the road was closed down on Thursday.
"It wasn't possible to get in the break, no-one wanted me there," the 26-year-old said. "I already know from before the race that I was on people's black lists to not get in the break. I wanted to try one more time, but I guess now [I will] focus on the GC until Paris."
The man from Leeds has been in the break four times at this year's race: stage nine to Ussel, where he finished third, stage 13 to Belfort, where he again finished third, and then the twin stages last weekend, 14 and 15, where he went up the road to build a buffer before the final climb.
However, with just two more stages to come, both finishing up Alpe d'Huez, it is tricky to see a situation where Pidcock will be allowed up the road until Paris. However, his top 10 seems incredibly secure, with the Q36.5 rider having over 11 minutes on ninth-placed Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies).
On Thursday, Pidcock finished with the yellow jersey group, 4:35 behind stage winner Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), who moved up to 10th overall as a result. "[It was] not an easy day, but the last climb was fairly controlled I think," Pidcock said. "When Carapaz is up the road, I have too much respect for this guy to give him free time. You don't give him free time."
The other story of the day was illness at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, which Pidcock played down having a great effect on the battle for yellow, despite Brandon McNulty abandoning the race.
"It's not good for them, they definitely weren't in a good way today," he said. "But I think, to be honest, these next two days, it's about the other teams fighting for the podium. I don't think UAE will have that much work to do."
