Tom Pidcock to skip fall US cyclocross World Cups, vows to race CX worlds in Fayetteville

A nagging knee injury will sideline Tom Pidcock during fall World Cup cyclocross stops in the United States, but the Olympic mountain bike gold medalist promises he will race the world championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Pidcock, who was planning to hit three scheduled cyclocross World Cup stops in October in Wisconsin, Arkansas and Iowa this autumn, confirmed he will race the cyclocross worlds in January.

“I will not race in America anymore,” Pidcock said in a media call Monday. “We’ve decided to stop my season after the worlds to sort my knee out. I’ve a bit of tendonitis and it’s been niggling me all year. I am just going to get to (road) worlds and do the best I can there, call it a season and fix my knee problem, and get it back to 100 percent.”

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Pidcock, who is riding into week three of his grand tour debut at the Vuelta a España, said cyclocross will remain part of his ever ambitious plans for 2022, with a ticket booked for the United States for the world championships on January 30.

“The plan after that will still be the same,” Pidcock said of his plans. “I’ll start racing again in December, and then go to the worlds in America.”

Also read: No world title for Pidcock, but a lot of promise

For 2022, the multi-discipline star will continue to mix it up. First he will race a short but intense cyclocross calendar capped by worlds, then shift into the WorldTour season on the road, with a focus on the spring classics. Pidcock also confirmed he will take up a full mountain bike calendar in the second half of the year, with the worlds also on his schedule.

Showing hints of road ambitions, Pidcock also suggested he could start the 2022 Giro d’Italia.

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Pidcock will race the road worlds in Belgium next month, but also confirmed he will not race Paris-Roubaix.

Following his dramatic Olympic medal in mountain biking in Tokyo, Pidcock was quick to turn his focus to the Vuelta, which he said he intends on finishing Sunday in Galicia.

“It feels like it quite far in the past now. I’ve moved on relatively quickly compared to other people who won medals in the Olympics,” he said. “In cycling, we have so many events. Some people have said well-done inside the peloton here.”

Also read: Pidcock powers away with Olympic gold

Rather than race mountain bike worlds, Pidcock switched gears back onto the road, lining up for his grand tour debut at the Vuelta just weeks following his dramatic fat-tire gold medal.

Pidcock hadn’t raced on the road since June, so he knew he would be coming into the Vuelta a little under-cooked. Fourth in stage 14 reveals how he’s growing as the race unfolds.

“I am feeling alright,” Pidcock said about the Vuelta. “I am getting stronger in each day, and finding my feet a bit. I am pretty pleased how I am getting through the race. I am quite pleased that I was able to get into the break and finish fourth. I am pleased that I am two weeks into my first grand tour and I am feeling better than I did at the start. It’s a stage win or anything, but it’s a nice little achievement for myself.”