What's next for Tom Pidcock after his Vuelta breakthrough?
Tom Pidcock’s third place at the Vuelta a España was more than a result. It was the first time the 26-year-old Briton truly tested himself across three weeks with general classification in mind, and he left Madrid with both a podium and a new sense of possibility.
For years Pidcock’s ambitions in Grand Tours seemed half-formed. He spoke often of wanting to win the Tour de France but admitted the monotony of stage racing bored him. He was happier chasing monuments, cyclocross titles or mountain bike medals. The Vuelta shifted that balance.
“In the stage to Bilbao he dropped Jonas Vingegaard on the climb. That was already unique and a positive sign for the future,” his Belgian coach Kurt Bogaerts told Wielerflits. “It was the first time the general classification was really the goal from the start. In the past, there was always an Olympics or a mountain bike Worlds right after a Grand Tour.”
Bogaerts sees the podium as part of a long-term plan. “In a plan we set out four years ago, I had written down that in 2025 he should go for a podium in a Grand Tour for the first time. That has now come true. His development is still moving upwards, and that is the most important thing.”
The comparison he reaches for is close to home: “A bit like Geraint Thomas. He started on the track, then rode the Classics, and only later switched to the Grand Tours. At 32 he won the Tour.”
The Vuelta also offered tangible numbers to build on. “We are three minutes from the winner,” Bogaerts told The Cycling Podcast. “And now we know that if we will potentially win a Grand Tour one of these days, we need to close a minimum of three to four minutes. I think that’s an achievable gap.”
Pidcock himself shared that belief. “It’s probably the biggest achievement of my career so far. This third place feels like a win. But it also makes me believe I could fight for more in the future,” he said at the end of the Vuelta.
Q36.5, still a ProTeam, are already investing in that future. Riders like Chris Harper, Thomas Gloag and Eddie Dunbar will add climbing depth for 2026. Yet even with reinforcements, caution remains the watchword. “I don’t think we need to go next year to try to win it, or only to go for the podium,” Bogaerts said of the Tour de France to Wielerflits. The team may not even receive an invitation in 2026, so the immediate goal is to consolidate what worked at the Vuelta, analyse the details, and edge closer to the top step.
Such pragmatism also reflects the competing claims on Pidcock’s calendar. Mountain biking has never left his heart. He skipped the World Championships earlier this month to target the Vuelta, but in July he still found time to win both the European title and the World Cup round in Andorra.
“The mountain biking means more to him,” Bogaerts said. “It falls during the season and is easier to combine when the travel is limited. Towards the next Olympics it will become even more important.”
On the road his next big test may come sooner than expected. Pidcock has already spoken about his ambitions for the World Championships. Whether that is realistic after such a demanding Vuelta remains uncertain. “If you choose this kind of preparation, then you know it is no longer fully in your own hands,” Bogaerts said to Wielerflits.
“In a Vuelta you go not deep enough on some days, and far too deep on others. Afterwards you have to see how quickly the body recovers. With a training-based build-up you know more precisely where you stand. But if he recovers well and reaches the level of certain stages in the Vuelta, he can definitely play a role with the best riders at the Worlds.”
Cyclocross, by contrast, is slipping away. After skipping the winter of 2024-25, Pidcock looks unlikely to return this year either. The reasons are practical as much as personal. His long road season stretches from January’s AlUla Tour to the Giro di Lombardia in October, followed immediately by the Gravel Worlds in Valkenburg. “At a certain point you need to rest,” Bogaerts said.
“Tom goes on longer than Van der Poel or Van Aert, who both stop earlier and can build in time for cross. For him it becomes harder and harder to fit in.”
For now the focus is on confirming what the Vuelta suggested. Pidcock has proved he can survive three weeks, he has shown flashes of brilliance against the best climbers, and he has discovered he can discipline his instincts for a bigger prize. The question is how far that discipline will take him. As Bogaerts put it, “We have a good plan, but nobody stands still. He will have to keep improving, knowing the competition does too.”
