Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) is ready for an ambitious final weekend of the season, making his debut at the Il Lombardia race in Italy on Saturday before competing in the Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands on Sunday.
The Q36.5 team leader will rush to catch a flight after Saturday's race, where he will face Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), heading north. His final road race classic of the season is a primary objective, but the opportunity to add the Gravel World Championship title to his already impressive collection of cyclo-cross and mountain bike world titles is also appealing. Pidcock would become only the second rider, and the first man, to win elite World Championship titles in cyclo-cross, cross-country mountain biking, and gravel, joining Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.
"Participating in the Gravel World Championships was an early goal for me this year, but then the date was moved to the day after Lombardia," Pidcock said. "Lombardia is the priority, and then I'll do as much as I can in gravel. I was given number 1 to start, so I have an even bigger target on my back. It won't be easy, but we'll definitely give it a go."
The Gravel World Championships were originally scheduled for October 18–19, but due to organizational issues, the UCI had to find a new organizer, and the race will now take place on the hilly roads of Limburg in the southern Netherlands, the same region that hosts the Amstel Gold Race.
"Tom wanted to finish the season on a high note, and gravel makes him feel good," said Q36.5 Sports Director Kurt Bogaerts. "They didn't make our lives easy by changing both the venue and the date, but it's also important for Tom to ride Lombardia for the first time, as it's a race that should suit him well in the future."
Reigning Gravel World Champion Mathieu van der Poel will not be participating this time, but the field will include European Champion Mads Würtz Schmidt, former WorldTour rider Romain Bardet, former cyclo-cross rider turned top sprinter Tim Merlier, 2023 World Champion Matej Mohorič, and talented classics and cyclo-cross riders such as Tim Wellens, Tibor Del Grosso, Quinten Hermans, and 2022 World Champion Gianni Vermeersch.
