Pidcock and Pogačar
Two contrasting weekends in Lombardy
And so the last big race of the cycling season came around and when all was said and done, when all the hoardings and banners had been packed away, nobody was surprised about the winner.
That Tadej Pogačar was going to win Il Lombardia for the fourth time in a row was a foregone conclusion. Only an act of God or a crash or illness would be enough to stop him. Sure there were riders like Remco Evenepoel in the pack ready to pounce, but few truly believed it would be anyone but Tadej with his arms aloft at the end of the race.
Few predicted just how far ahead he would be when he won it, too. Pog was over three minutes ahead of Remco when he crossed the line, a winning margin more commonly seen in grand tours than in one-day races. It was the biggest margin of victory since 1971, the era of Pogačar’s cannibal-esque ancestor Eddy Merckx.
I wasn’t disappointed that Pog had won but I had been concerned beforehand that should he win, I’d have to drag out another thousand words or so about a man The Musette is swiftly becoming a biography of. There are hundreds of other professional cyclists in the peloton but you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you only read about cycling here. When a rider is winning this often, though, in this manner, it’s hard to write about anybody else.
So consider this post a half-tribute to Tadej Pogačar and a half-thank you letter to the Ineos Grenadiers. The team that when I started watching cycling seemed unbeatable at the Tour de France, the team of Wiggins, Froome and Thomas, seem to be slowly imploding before our eyes. This week I can write about this, too.
After winning every Tour de France between 2012-2019 bar one, they now find winning any race a challenge. One would think then that the presence of Tom Pidcock, a rare talent and probably their best rider would be a boost, but no.
Pidcock doesn’t seem to like the Ineos Grenadiers and the Ineos Grenadiers don’t seem to like Tom Pidcock. Well, the management don’t, anyway. He was on the team bus about to head to the start of Il Lombardia last Sunday when he was told that his services were no longer required for the race. It was, according to their sports director Zak Dempster, a “management decision.”
Pidcock was undoubtedly the team’s best chance to win the race. He had finished second (or first of the normal men) to Pogačar at the Giro dell’Emilia the week before.
But contract rumours have been swirling. He was about to leave the team for Q36.5 Pro Cycling, but according to Daniel Benson here on Substack that move is now off. That in the long run is probably better news for the Ineos Grenadiers than it is for Tom Pidcock. He clearly isn’t getting on well with the management but the management need riders who can win races.
Though of course for Pidcock to win races first he needs to be riding them.
I don’t think Pidcock would have challenged Pogačar for the win last week. If a rider is winning by three minutes it’s unlikely the presence of one more classy rider will do anything to interrupt them. But he is one of the only men who can pose a challenge generally to Pog when it comes to one-day racing. Put him in the chase with the likes of Evenepoel and things are at least a little more challenging for the Slovenian Merckx.
Now it’s a problem for 2025. The big races of the road season are all in the books and Tom Pidcock, the Ineos Grenadiers, and the rest of the professional peloton have a long old off season to ponder how to beat the best cyclist in the world.
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I also have a travel Substack: Tom Fish Is Away. If that sounds like your thing you can find a recent post below.
