'I'm not going to make predictions now' - Pidcock stays cool ahead of Angliru

Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) remained tight-lipped about his chances ahead on the mighty Alto de L'Angliru after a relatively straightforward day for the GC contenders on stage 12 of the Vuelta a España.

Sitting third in the general classification, 56 seconds behind race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Viisma | Lease a Bike), Pidcock acknowledged that there was a feeling on anticipation among the contenders ahead of the next couple of days.

The presence of the category 1 Collada de Brenes inside the final 30km was enough to keep the GC riders on their toes, but in the end, there was no real action, beyond race leader Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma | Lease a Bike teammates began to pace into and at the bottom of the climb.

"Yeah, decent pace by [Visma], but thankfully we didn't have to go full gas, save it for tomorrow," Pidcock said after the stage, which saw Juan Ayuso emerge as the stage winner from a large breakaway while the GC men finished together.

“I think all the GC guys are definitely saving for tomorrow, I mean, there was a bit of stress for this last climb when [Visma] started pacing at the bottom. I think people were worried Jonas [Vingegaard] was going to attack to [Victor] Campenaerts or something. But yeah, I think everyone knows what’s coming in the coming days."

Stage 13 features three major categorised climbs in the second longest stage of the race, with a summit finish on the mighty Angliru, which returns for the first time since 2023. When reminded that he had been one of the few riders to drop race leader Vingegaard on a climb in recent times on stage 11, Pidcock downplayed the feat, acknowledging the different type of challenge that stage 13 will offer.

“Yeah, it will be, what is it, six or seven times as long. Look, yesterday was yesterday, and tomorrow is tomorrow; we’ll see. I mean, I feel good, I hope that continues tomorrow, but I’m not going to make any predictions now," he said.

Pidcock also detailed how having the opportunity to fight for the stage win, with no breakaway ahead, helps provide extra motivation and willpower, which could be crucial for his GC ambitions on gradients that reach 23% on L’Angliru.

“For tomorrow? Yeah, I mean, we’ll see, of course, I think if the stage is on the cards, it provides a bit of extra motivation, like it was yesterday.”