Tom Pidcock ‘faultless’ in Strade Bianche 2023 masterclass as Eurosport experts hail ‘fantastic’ ride

Eurosport’s experts have given their reactions to the astonishing triumph from Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) at the 2023 Strade Bianche on Saturday afternoon.

Pidcock became the first male British rider in history to win on the white roads of Tuscany with what was a stunning solo victory as he again underlined his outrageous talent as place as a potentially dominant force in the sport.

Adam Blythe, Dani Rowe and Dan Lloyd were all left blown away by the Brit’s inspired ride in a performance that was described as “faultless” on one of the biggest stages in cycling.

“As soon as he was 30-40km out, he just kept that pace the whole time,” Blythe said on the Eurosport post-race show The Breakaway.

“He paced it beautifully. I mean, if you want a faultless ride, it was that basically – not panicking, not getting stressed, not really looking over his shoulder.

“For Tom, it was a case of committing, pacing yourself and do not worry about what they are doing.

“The team-mates on other teams were not really working together well enough, and it looked like they were in it for themselves, really, trying to take their own chance.

“The other riders were just gambling on the final climb and from that, Tom hugely benefited because everyone else was just watching each other. For Tom, it was a blessing that he had a hard race behind him that blew to bits.”

Rowe added: “He rides the bike so effortlessly. He is at one with the bike and it all just comes so naturally to Tom.

“You saw how quickly he brought back the riders who went out early in the race and his bike-handling skills helped a huge amount in that finale. It shows a real maturity from such a young rider.”

Lloyd added: “It all paid off for him in the end, and it is just nice to see all these young riders going valiantly from 50km to go and it paying off for them in the finish.

“With Pidcock today, it really hung in the balance and it made for a very exciting climax at the finish. It’s fantastic.

“I think we are in a golden age of cycling at the moment as viewers and fans of the sport.”

Asked by Rowe if the Brit could possibly win a Tour de France title one day, Lloyd left everyone in suspense.

“He has won big so often, and this was a big one for him to win. He has won in so many different disciplines. Maybe he doesn’t want to be categorised, he just wants to have fun on the bike.

“I will never say that Tom Pidcock can’t do anything based on what I have seen from his career so far.”

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