'We committed' - Pidcock falls short at Vuelta after late crash

Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) sprinted to 10th on the second stage of the Vuelta a España in an uphill finish to Limone Piemonte, two seconds behind stage winner and new race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike).

A significant crash on a wet roundabout with 26.5km remaining caught out several riders, including Pidcock and many of his Q36.5 teammates, as well as stage winner Vingegaard and multiple of his Visma | Lease a Bike teammates.

Despite the incident, all affected riders managed to continue with Pidcock and Vingegaard swiftly rejoining the peloton before the crucial final climb.

The British rider's team had been particularly active at the front of the race during the challenging wet conditions, controlling the pace before many were caught in the unfortunate crash.

When asked by reporters at the finish if he had been impacted by the crash, Pidcock said: “I don’t feel anything to be honest. I don’t know if my bike might be a bit damaged, but no excuses really.”

Pidcock was well in the mix for the stage win when he made a move with around 300 metres remaining in response to Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale). However, the British rider was unable to match the acceleration of Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), who surged clear, only for Jonas Vingegaard to pass the Italian metres before the line to take the stage win and red jersey.

Pidcock was asked to describe the final 500 metres, and the British rider remained positive with the overall outcome, indicating he believes his form will improve as the race grows older.

“Yeah, I think, I can be happy how I rode to be honest, I always take a few days to get into a race, but we committed. I didn’t have the legs, but we will try again another time," said Pidcock.