'Best ever time trial' - Pidcock one step closer to Vuelta podium in Valladolid

Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) strengthened his grip on third place at the Vuelta a España with what he described as his “best ever time trial” on stage 18 in Valladolid.

The 26-year-old finished 28 seconds behind stage winner and former teammate Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and extended his advantage over his closest challenger, Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), by three seconds, and was in high spirits after the finish.

"I think that was probably my best ever time trial, the numbers I was doing, so yeah, I can be pretty happy," Pidcock told reporters after the shortened individual test. "We didn't focus at all on the time trial before this, we wanted to improve my climbing and everything. Yeah, I did a team time trial session, and a team time trial. I felt super strong, to be honest."

Pidcock now sits 2:39 behind race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) in the general classification and holds a 39-second buffer over Hindley, with one major mountain stage to come on stage 20. 

When asked if he would have preferred the full-length time trial given his strong performance, Pidcock dismissed the idea. "I don't think there are many people you would ask today that would want to do a longer time trial, to be honest with you," he said with a smile.

This positive performance continues Pidcock's strong showing in the final week, coming just a day after he finished second on stage 17 to El Morredero behind winner Giulio Pellizzari. On that stage, he gained valuable seconds over his GC rivals, including Hindley. 

Pidcock also admitted he had struggled mentally after the Bilbao stage 11, impacting him for the remainder of the week, but confirmed with both his words and performance so far in the final week that he has returned to his best form.

"After Bilbao, the stage took a lot out of me, mentally to deal with it, and yeah, I think I suffered in the last part of the second week," Pidcock explained. "But this week, I feel again like I did in the first part of the race, I feel super good. I'm definitely confident, but not getting complacent."

When questioned about choosing to focus on his overall position rather than chasing a stage win on Wednesday as Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe played the team card, Pidcock was philosophical, admitting he would have liked the stage but is looking at the bigger picture.

"Yeah, for sure, hindsight's a wonderful thing, you know, but it's the first time I've been in this situation. For me, finishing on the podium is bigger than a stage win, as much as I would like to win, but yeah, it's difficult to balance it sometimes when you feel like, yeah, getting a stage win in a Grand Tour is a big deal."

Despite the ongoing uncertainties within the race, Pidcock maintained he stays focused only on the task at hand edging closer to what would be a maiden Grand Tour podium finish.

"No, because I don't pay any attention, I don't get involved, I'm not in the riders group, Damien [Howson] does all that, so yeah, I just keep focus on what's important," he said. "It's better to focus on what we are supposed to have on the table, and if anything's different, adapt to it after."