Pidcock, winner of the Strade Bianche in 2023 and the Amstel Gold Race in 2024, is going through a long season. In January he already won two stages in the AlUla Tour.
“Tom said at the beginning of the year that he absolutely wanted to ride the World Cup on gravel,” says his trainer Kurt Bogaerts to the Belgian newspaper. Sporza. “He wanted to end the season in a fun way. Off-road competitions give Tom a good feeling.”
Pidcock (26) is a two-time Olympic mountain biking champion. Initially the combination was easier because the World Championships in gravel riding were scheduled a week later and would be held in Nice. “They didn’t make it easy for Tom,” says Bogaerts. Pidcock will fly from Bergamo to Maastricht, the finishing place of the World Cup, on Saturday evening.
Del Toro wins, Mollema third in the Gran Piemonte cycling race
Mexican Isaac del Toro has won the 109th edition of the Italian cycling race Gran Piemonte. Shortly behind the UAE Team Emirates rider, the Swiss Marc Hirschi was just too fast for Bauke Mollema in the sprint for second place.
For the 21-year-old Del Toro it was his sixth victory since the beginning of September. He won the Tour of Tuscany and the Tour of Emilia, among others.
A leading group of three – the Belgian Quinten Hermans, the Slovenian Jan Tratnik and the Norwegian Adne Holter – crossed the finish line for a final loop with the climb of the Castelletto d’Erro again. Six riders followed within half a minute, including Mollema, his compatriot Jardi Christiaan van der Lee, Hirschi and the Spaniard Ion Izagirre.
On the climb, Del Toro emerged from the background. The Mexican, together with Mollema, joined Hirschi, who had broken away from the leading group, and then took off alone on the steepest part.