News: Pidcock attacks Namur CX

After a race when Tom Pidcock took the race to World Champion Van der Poel and Van Aert with an attacking effort, it was the rainbow stripes of Van der Poel who triumphed ahead of Van Aert and Pidcock

News: Pidcock attacks Namur CX

World Cup Cyclocross namur – Source: https://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/

After a race when Tom Pidcock took the race to World Champion Van der Poel and Van Aert with an attacking effort, it was the rainbow stripes of Van der Poel who triumphed ahead of Van Aert and Pidcock

It was a spectacular World Cup in Namur for the British rider Tom Pidcock. The world champion Mathieu Van der Poel may have been the first to cross the finish line after more than an hour in the Citadelcross but it was Tom Pidcock who seemed to be on his way to a historic victory for a long time, but on the final lap, was caught and dropped to third place.

Tom Pidcock:
“I don’t think I rode the perfect race, but this is the best way for me”, Pidcock says of his attacking ride at Namur. “I rode my own race”, said the Brit, who eventually finished third at eleven seconds behind world champion Van der Poel. “Today I didn’t have luck on my side. Also with a little more energy on the final lap I could have finished second, I think. But winning was not going to work. They never let the gap get too big for that. ”

Pidcock knows he is stronger when he leads solo. “It’s hard to say, but I’m better at the front. I have also experienced a lot with racing in the juniors and the U23. When I have to ride in the wheels, I’m not that good. That’s why I think this was the right way for me to race today ”, says the winner of the cross in Gavere.

Only in the final did Van Aert and Van der Poel close the gap to Pidcock. The Brit was eager to take advantage of that conflict. “I hoped they would look at each other. But Wout did some work to bridge across and then Mathieu attacked. A podium place is good for me, and I was able to compete against the two kings of the cross ”, said a proud Pidcock.

The Race

World Cup leader Michael Vanthourenhout got off to a good start, with Wout van Aert in his wake. Mathieu van der Poel had to come from the second row and he moved slowly but surely on the first lap. Last week’s winner in Gavere, Tom Pidcock, also got off the starting blocks well. He create the first gaps and only Van Aert, Van der Poel and Vanthourenhout could follow the British rider.

Pidcock did not hold back on the second lap, which led to small errors among his pursuers. He entered the third lap with a lead of about five seconds. On the off camber, halfway through the race, Pidcock’s lead was eleven seconds. Van der Poel managed to close the gap on the sixth lap, but the world champion did not reach Pidcock’s wheel. At the start of the seventh lap (out of nine), the difference was five seconds. Pidcock played a cat-and-mouse game with Van Aert and Van der Poel, who had shaken Vanthourenhout.

Five seconds, seven seconds… two of the worlds top riders (Van der Poel and Van Aert), who were racing each other for the first time this winter in the cyclocross, were unable to close the gap to Pidcock. On the eighth lap, Van Aert and Van der Poel bridged to the wheel of Pidcock, which created a whole new level of excitement in the Citadelcross.

Immediately after the three came together, the reigning world champion went up a gear. Had the Brit blown? Yes, because just after the start of the final lap, he could not keep up with Van der Poel’s pace. Van Aert also had to admit time, but the Belgian from Jumbo-Visma kept the pressure high on his eternal rival. Van der Poel, however, still had enough power to take the victory, three seconds ahead of Van Aert. Pidcock followed in third.

Mathieu van der Poel: “I certainly had nothing left. I had made a good start, but at the top of the slope I shot out of my pedal, ”explains Van der Poel. “I never thought for a moment in the game that I had any more to give. I was on the limit for an hour. I also almost fell a few times, because was really on the limit. I was pretty stressed everywhere and there were a lot of risks today. It’s not that I rode tactically, because I certainly wouldn’t have closed it on my own”, he says about his collaboration with Van Aert. “We both have to keep up our pace. That was not a tactical decision of mine. ”

Wout van Aert: “I brought Mathieu back in the race and should have known better. Mathieu has the quality that he can go far over his limit in the last lap. It was a lack of confidence that the victory was already possible today, I was more focused on coming back than in winning. I can build on this. I am happy that I could ride such a race. I have to use the confidence that I missed now for the next crosses ”, says Van Aert. ”

World Cup Namur 2020 – Men Elite (CDM)
1. M van der Poel
2. Wout van Aert
3. Tom Pidcock

23. Ben Turner (7th U23)
27. Thomas Mein
48. Rory McGuire
54. Ollie Stockwell
55. Dan Barnes
61. Tom Couzens
https://cyclocross24.com/race/10499/

World Cup Namur – Women
1. L Brand,
2. C Honsinger,
3. D Betsema

6. Evie Richards,
7. Anna Kay (3rd U23),
21. Harriett Harnden,
27. Amira Mellor,
34. Ffion James,
39. Josie Nelson,
47. Sophie Wright
51. Abby Mae Parkinson,
54. Amy Perryman,
56. Abbie Manley