Tom Pidcock chasing first Monument win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Tom Pidcock will lead the line for Ineos Grenadiers at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, with the British rider hoping to put a disappointing performance in Flèche Wallonne behind him.

The Amstel Gold Race winner abandoned Wednesday’s race due to the freezing conditions and was unable to contest for the win as Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) claimed the biggest one-day victory of his career.

Pidcock wasn’t the only rider to suffer terribly in the frosty conditions with several athletes taken away with hypothermic symptoms. Pidcock has had several days to recover since Wednesday’s encounter and heads into Sunday’s race with his confidence still sky-high following his Amstel Gold Race win a week ago.

“Well I’ve certainly warmed up, I can’t say I’m proud of my performance in Flèche, there were definitely better men out there than me that day, but I got so cold it was impossible to think about the bike race anymore. At that point, it was better to be safe than sorry,” he said ahead of Sunday’s race.

Pidcock had to wait over a year to take his latest win on the road but he has been building his form nicely since switching from cyclo-cross in the winter.

He finished inside the top ten in the Volta ao Algarve in February before taking two more top-tens in Milan-San Remo and Strade Bianche. He then captured his first ever top-ten in a WorldTour stage race at Tirreno-Adriatico in March.

A crash during the recon of the stage 1 time trial at Itzulia Basque Country meant he had to miss the race entirely but he bounced back with a surprise inclusion at Paris-Roubaix before last week’s win in Amstel.

“Really good,” he said when asked about his form ahead of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“This is a real favourite race of mine. I’m looking forward to the challenge and suffering. I know how hard it will be but I’m ready for that.”

The 24-year-old was second in Liège-Bastogne-Liège last year behind Remco Evenepoel but even though the Belgian is missing from the start line this year, there’s still a stacked line-up, including former winner Tadej Pogačar, and Mathieu van der Poel.

“I think last year I raced super well,” Pidcock said.

“Tactically and also physically, I got the most out of what I had in the locker, so I can be proud of that. Of course, a podium at a monument is fantastic but I really want to chase my first monument win and that’s what I try to do every time I start one now.”

Pidcock will be supported by a strong Ineos Grenadiers team that includes former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal, Laurens De Plus and Michał Kwiatkowski.