Joseph Pidcock: If I deserve to go WorldTour then I’ll be there but I can’t be salty either way

After a season to forget and almost walking away the sport, Joseph Pidcock (Trinity Racing) roared back to win the final stage of the Ronde de l'Isard last weekend.

All victories are significant for a wannabe pro but this one was special for the 22-year-old after he contemplated hanging up his wheels last year after two concussions wrecked his season. And with his confidence rebuilt, the younger brother of Tom Pidcock is holding out hope for a WorldTour contract in 2025 – even if he’s not letting those dreams distract him from maintaining his momentum.

“It’s pretty cool. It’s not the biggest deal in the world but after so long of not getting it right, winning is pretty special to me. I think it proves that I can do it, it’s proof of concept because for so long I wasn’t in the game and now it feels like I’m actually racing again,” Pidcock told GCN during a call on Tuesday morning.

The Ronde de l'Isard is one of the most prestigious U23 races on the European calendar and previous winners include Stevie Williams, Pavel Sivakov and the late Bjorg Lambrecht. A strong showing in the French race tends to get young talent noticed by WorldTour teams due to the arduous terrain and the stacked field of promising riders hunting pro contracts.

Pidcock had picked up a top-10 finish earlier in the race but on the final stage, everything clicked into place for the Trinity Racing rider.

“I just had to get over that climb. It was about 14km long at around six or seven per cent. There wasn’t anyone to help me because there were GC guys on the team and I just had to be there basically. I made it over the climb and from there I just had the feeling,” Pidcock added.

Almost leaving cycling

This time last year Pidcock’s career had stalled and was verging on an unhappy ending. A crash in February left him with a concussion and almost as soon as he returned to full fitness he crashed for a second time and was left with a second concussion in less than six months. He racked up just 18 days of racing and his campaign effectively ended in April. By his own admission, retirement from the sport became a possibility.

However, a short training trip in Andorra revitalised the British rider and motivated him to give the sport one more shot.

“After the first concussion and then crashing again, that really didn’t do me well but I’m glad that I came back. It was everything, those concussions because I was in good shape after the camp and crashed badly. There were a few weeks of not riding and my coach at the time was convinced it took me about four months and then the second time I just couldn’t deal with it as well.

"I definitely thought about stopping totally. I had about eight weeks off and I didn’t plan to start again. But I was staying at my brother’s apartment in Andorra with Euan Macleod and he convinced me to come back.”

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The sprint win in the Ronde de l'Isard was in fact Pidcock’s second victory this year, after he claimed a stage on the non-UCI sanctioned Dornan Rás Mumhan in​​ Ireland at the start of April, but the victory in France was far more important given the calibre of the field and the timing ahead of a busy block of racing.

Next up for Pidcock is the one-day Flèche Ardennaise in Belgium before another stage race in France, the Alpes Isère Tour.

In the grand scheme of things these are early days in Pidcock’s revival as a road rider but this remains an important year in the young rider’s career if he has ideas of following his older brother into the men’s WorldTour.

More wins like the one in the Ronde de l'Isard will do his chances of joining the pro ranks no harm at all but for now, Pidcock just wants to concentrate on his form and picking up wins throughout the rest of the spring and early summer.

“Ideally yes but I don’t want to think about it yet,” he said when asked about the notion of a future in the WorldTour.

“It’s a long season and there’s a lot left. As a fourth year [under-23 rider], it’s not a given just because you’ve won a race but this gives you confidence and it’s everything. It proves you can do it. I’m not getting distracted with WorldTour thoughts because it either happens or it doesn’t and I can’t be salty either way. A team either wants me in their team or they don’t. If I deserve it then I’ll be there and if not, that’s just how it is.”

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