Tom Pidcock admits 'big rookie mistake' at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Tom Pidcock arrived at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with high expectations, but the Belgian opener turned into a test of survival rather than a chance to race for a result. After the rain hit early and the peloton splintered, he said he was simply trying to stay upright and keep his body from shutting down.
Pidcock eventually finished 48th, two minutes behind winner Mathieu van der Poel, and post race he explained the decisive shift came when the weather flipped. “Honestly, as soon as it started raining after 30 kilometers, all I could focus on was trying to stay warm and not crashing,” he said to Sporza.
“It was just fighting, fighting with myself so it was not really in the race at all.” The fight was physical and mental, and he admitted the conditions caught him out more than he expected. “Actually I’m quite happy that I finished in the end. I wanted to stop. I was so cold,” he said. “I miscalculated how cold it would be if it rained. Big, big rookie mistake.”
His day was further complicated by time lost moving back through the convoy to collect extra clothing. Television images showed him drifting toward the team cars to grab a rain jacket, then trying to regain position as the bunch surged again. It summed up an afternoon of damage control rather than racing.
“No, no. It wasn’t,” he said when asked if it had been a nice race for him. “At least I didn’t crash.”
Although the result looked underwhelming on paper, Pidcock tried to frame it within a longer arc. He pointed out that Omloop has rarely suited him, even when his form is strong, and suggested there was no need to read too much into one sodden afternoon.
“Last year I didn’t do a great race here,” he said. “And Strade I was really great.” He knows the expectations that follow him into the spring and he addressed them head on. “People always expect me to do well in this race, but I never have. So it’s the same this year. I’m not really that disappointed. I’m happy that I got through. That’s positive.”
Pidcock cracked a smile when asked when he made the decision to finish. “I think when we had about 30 seconds of sun,” he said, laughing.
With Strade Bianche next on his calendar, he also played down any concern about the result. “Strade is my favourite race, so I need to be good,” he said.
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