It’s early days yet in 2026, but if Sunday’s performance is any indication, Tom Pidcock could well be set for his most spectacular season yet.
The Briton dazzled on the final stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía Ruta del Sol, riding with complete confidence to attack 5.8km out on the short Alto de la Primera Cruz.
Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) did what he could to hang on, but with Pidcock putting in the same kind of all-out effort which dropped Jonas Vingegaard on stage 11 of last year’s Vuelta a España, the Frenchman had to abandon his effort.
Pidcock was on a complete mission and soloed to the summit, fending off a desperate chase by Jan Christen (UAE Emirates-XRG) and reaching the line ten seconds clear.
Grégoire led in a small chase group a further two seconds later.
Pidcock looked completely assured, even if things could have been more straightforward with a tougher finale.
“I knew today was going to be tricky because the climb was so fast,” he said. “You know, it was over 30k an hour average on this climb. I could go solo over the top. Once at the hardest point, I said myself, I’m just going to attack. I think Christen followed me for a little bit and then I managed to gap him and, yeah, held on to the finish. I just had to keep going to the finish.”
Pidcock is coming off his best road season to date, with third overall in the Vuelta a España, victory in the AlUla Tour, plus stage wins in that race, the Vuelta a Andalucia and the Arctic Race of Norway.
He was also second behind Tadej Pogačar in Strade Bianche, and was runner up on two stages of the Vuelta.
Now 26, he is gaining more and more experience following several years focusing more on off-road racing and with that breakthrough Vuelta podium to his credit, he’s got a growing self-assurance and determination.
‘I was getting really frustrated’
Sunday’s stage win wasn’t the earliest triumph Pidcock has recorded in any given season. His two stage wins plus overall success in the AlUla Tour last year came at an earlier point on the calendar than this success; so too his stage win in the 2024 Volta ao Algarve.
However the confidence he showed in the finale of Sunday’s stage was notable, and so too the feeling that he is on a new trajectory. That Vuelta podium last season decisively proves he can contend for victory in a Grand Tour and that the double MTB champion can make it to the top in road racing.
Winning on Sunday puts things right after Iván Romeo (Movistar Team) and Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) outfoxed the peloton on stage two and reached the line with an advantage that would earn them the top two slots in the final GC.
Pidcock could otherwise have won and so taking his stage win somewhat made up for that.
“It feels great,” he said. “I mean, yesterday I was getting really frustrated… We trained so hard this winter. We made a big commitment. We went to [altitude in] Chile. We put in so much work and yeah, we missed opportunities here. We made a mistake in judging the parcours here. It wasn’t perfect. We let the GC go one day and yeah, I was getting frustrated that we wasted opportunities.
“But today we took it. The team was great. I finished it off. Then it makes it all worthwhile.”
Pidcock jumped three places in the overall standings to third and, with Romeo and Leknessund taking first and second, will rue the miscalculation earlier in the week.
Another duel with Pogačar
Vuelta a Andalucia done and dusted, next up is a likely ride in the Omloop Nieuwsblad next Saturday. He’s then scheduled to have a rematch with Tadej Pogačar in Strade Bianche on .
Beyond that, the Q36.5 Pro Cycling rider will keep building towards his next grand tour, a return to the Tour de France four years after winning atop Alpe d’Huez, and two years after he last took part.
He was a stage hunter then; now he’s a GC contender and will go to that event determined to chase a place on the podium.
Of course, winning in February is different to taking victories in the biggest races in the sport. But succeeding now can also make subsequent triumphs more likely.
“It is easy to get into the season now there is already one victory in the pocket,” he explained.
“The pressure is off a little bit and that’s a really nice feeling.”
