Second stage win for Tom Pidcock in AlUla Tour

Tom Pidcock won stage four of the AlUla Tour today at Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid. With this second victory he keeps the green leader’s jersey in the AlUla Tour with one more flat day of racing to go on Saturday.

TOM PIDCOCK EXTENDS LEAD in AlUla Tour with Victory on stage 4
Tom Pidcock won stage four of the AlUla Tour today at Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid. With this second victory he keeps the green leader’s jersey in the AlUla Tour with one more flat day of racing to go on Saturday.

Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) said after the finish: “On a climb that steep, I went to the bottom to set my own pace. Offence is the best form of defense, sometimes. When I came to this race, they said it’s normally a tailwind up here, but it was a headwind. It was a long eight kilometers.”

“There were four guys behind me, and I don’t know how well they were working but I was on my own. It was a long way, but I am happy. I extended my lead, and this gives us a buffer going into tomorrow. I did a lot of training that helps me do these efforts. This week I set a new 5–10-minute power record so I am definitely in good shape.”

One more day of racing remains in Saudi Arabia with the 170-kilometre-long stage around the AlUla camel track on Saturday. It’s a bumpy final with two climbs in the final 20 kilometres. Pidcock holds a 29 second lead on Rainer Kepplinger and a 32-second lead on Alan Hatherly.

“I looked at tomorrow’s stage and I think it will be windy so it will be a stressful day to hold this jersey. It’s definitely not over but I think I couldn’t have done much more up till now,” Pidcock concluded.

THE STAGE
Tom Pidcock won stage four of the AlUla Tour today at Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid. With this second victory he keeps the green leader’s jersey in the AlUla Tour with one more flat day of racing to go on Saturday.

The hardest part of the 140,9-kilometer-long stage came at eleven kilometers from the line where the climbing percentages were well in the double digits for two kilometers.

Before that climb the entire Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team worked together to keep Pidcock at the front and out of trouble. When the road started to rise to 10% and up, Pidcock led the bunch himself. He profited optimally from his Scott Addict RC, the lightest bike in the Scott range, to whittle the first group down to just four riders.

After the climb, eight kilometers of more or less flat roads remained to the line. There was a slight headwind when Pidcock started that final flat section with a lead of 27 seconds on his chasers. Despite the chasers working well together, Pidcock managed to keep a 12 second lead on the line in a superbly managed effort to net the second win of the season for Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.

One more day of racing remains in Saudi Arabia with the 170-kilometre-long stage around the AlUla camel track on Saturday. It’s a bumpy final with two climbs in the final 20 kilometer. Pidcock holds a 29 second lead on Rainer Kepplinger and a 32-second lead on Alan Hatherly.

It’s now up to race leader Pidcock, Nick Zukowsky, Nicoló Parisini, Emils Liepiņš, Frederik Frison, Matteo Moschetti and Xabier Mikel Azparren, who climbed to seventh place himself on Friday, to bring home the overall win.

Photo: SprintCycling

Stage 4
1. Tom Pidcock , Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 03:09:46
2. Alan Hatherly , Team Jayco-AlUla @ 12
3. Rainer Kepplinger, Bahrain Victorious
4. Johannes Kulset, Uno-X Mobility
5. Eddie Dunbar, Team Jayco-AlUla @ 16

26. Oliver Stockwell, Bahrain Victorious @ 50
39. Calum Johnston, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 01:51

OVERALL
1. Tom Pidcock, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 13:54:22
2. Rainer Kepplinger, Bahrain Victorious @ 29
3. Alan Hatherly, Team Jayco-AlUla @ 32
4. Fredrik Dversnes, Uno-X Mobility @ 01:11
5. Johannes Kulset, Uno-X Mobility @ 01:13