As Tom Pidcock neared the end of his time on stage in a packed out room at Rouleur Live on Thursday, a man collecting rubbish stopped and took a photo of the Ineos Grenadiers rider on stage. The room might have been full of cycling fans, and more than a few well-connected people in the sport, but it was a reminder that Pidcock, the two-time Olympic champion, is the biggest star in British cycling, the man to see.
The 25-year-old has had a mixed season. He won the Amstel Gold Race, defended his Olympic mountain bike title, and finished second on the gravel stage at the Tour de France. However, intrigue swirled around the Yorkshireman's future at his Ineos Grenadiers team, and he was controversially "deselected" from Il Lombardia, a decision which suggested Pidcock could leave the team this winter. Ineos also had their worst-season ever, with just 14 wins, and have gone through a big staffing reshuffle.
While it appears he will stay at Ineos at least for next season, and Pidcock has been rehabilitated back into the fold, appearing at the team's camp in Manchester last week, the drama is not yet over.
The host at Rouleur Live, Matt Stephens, was at pains to say he wouldn't be asking directly about Pidcock's relationship with Ineos, with senior members of the team's management in the audience listening on, but the subject could not be avoided. "We'll know at some point," Pidcock pointedly said, implying there was a story to tell.
Asked if he was in a better place in terms of how he felt about the team and his future, he replied "no". It was more what he didn't say than did say which carried weight, with the rider refusing to put the situation to bed, or to simply say some pleasantries about the team.
"I’m never gonna lie,” Pidcock continued.
"It’s true, we’ve had a difficult year, I’ve had a difficult year. It’s not what we wanted but I do see a lot of positive changes and, of course, everyone accepts that there are difficulties when you change it and we’re seeing those changes happening. I do hope that it can be turned around."
There is optimism there for those who want Pidcock to succeed at Ineos, but also continued doubt over whether his future success will be at the British squad.
The 25-year-old also said that he hasn't enjoyed the Tour de France for the last two seasons, two years in which he has been pushed as a GC rider, something he revealed he felt he had to say.
"It’s been difficult," Pidcock explained. "I didn’t win a stage, the team didn’t have as much success as they used to and it was difficult. I need to try and re-find the feelings I had in the first place. Enjoying it, feeling like I’m part of the race. I think part of it was that the expectations grew in the last few years and I didn’t meet them for a multitude of reasons
"Expectations grew and I didn't meet them for a multitude of reasons and then it's not enjoyable, you're always trying to enjoy yourself.
“It was what I needed to say,” he said of his apparent GC ambitions. "Everything I've ever been good at I've believed in it, that I can be good at it. I don't say anything that I don't believe. The last few years going to the Tour I haven't known what I wanted. It doesn't create a nice experience, I really want to find what I want to get out of it and be realistic.
"The Tour is the biggest platform to show yourself, and if you're not in the spotlight you're kinda, not irrelevant, but..." he continued. "That's where you want to be, you want to win a stage or be in a jersey."
As for next season, Pidcock revealed that it hadn't been decided whether he would ride a cyclocross or mountain bike calendar, but that one-day races were his big goal on the road, and just getting back to his previous best form.
"I want to get back to enjoy it, going out there and racing and then everything else will follow," he said. "Unless you want it yourself then it’s irrelevant.
"I’ve lost that ability, the sprint the speed, that I had two or three years ago, and that’s what I want to find again. My favourite races are the Classics, and I haven’t won a Monument yet. That’s where I want to focus really."
Pidcock is still the biggest star in British cycling, but it feels like he needs to find his happy place to return to his best. Time will tell whether that happy place is Ineos Grenadiers.
