Tom Pidcock: Olympic MTB champion racing for cycling history

"I want to become the best rider in the world."

That was the goal that Tom Pidcock shared with Olympics.com in early 2021 when his journey to the top of the cycling world had just started.

Since then, the multi-talented British cyclist has turned into a household name in the sport by becoming MTB Olympic champion at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, and adding a cyclo-cross world title to his resume this January.

But Pidcock doesn’t want to stop there: after racing the spring classics on the road – and collecting a podium in the Dwars door Vlaanderen - the INEOS Grenadiers star is chasing more glory in this busy 2022, starting from arguably his favourite discipline, mountain bike.

The 22-year-old made a successful debut in the MTB World Cup season by winning the opening event in Albstadt, Germany.

The Yorkshireman put in a blistering attack mid-way through the race, leaving nine-time world champion Nino Schurter unable to respond, and then celebrated his first win since taking Olympic gold on the Izu course by performing a ‘wheelie’ across the finish line.

"It was an impressive attack and I just couldn’t go with it," Rio 2016 gold medallist Schurter said about Pidcock’s decisive move.

The British rider said afterwards that he just wanted to "test the water", feeling that the pace after a quick start was "super easy", but also admitted that he's still far from his pre-Tokyo fitness levels: "It was hard. I mean I haven’t ridden my mountain bike so much. It’s a different sort of effort. Those climbs, being able to do repeatedly, go really deep and recover."

Pidcock: Targeting European, World title in MTB

The reigning Olympic champion is in action again in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic (13-15 May), and finished second in the short track race on Friday. Last year he clinched his first victory in the elite category. That will be probably his last event before switching to the road again and preparing for his maiden Tour de France on the road in July.

Last year Pidcock proved he can be competitive on the dirt MTB tracks even juggling different disciplines at the same time: his gold in Japan came after racing just a handful of top-level races.

He even overcame a broken collarbone only weeks before the Olympic race, and that explains the confidence in setting himself some ambitious goals for this Northern Hemisphere summer season: "I want to win the world title. Maybe the Euros as well since I think I’m going to ride there as well."

The men's race at the European Championships takes place on 19 August at the Olympiapark in Munich, Germany, while the MTB Worlds are scheduled on the technical course of Les Gets, France, just a few days later (28).

Pidcock's quest for the world triple crown

Despite having raced non-stop since the winter, the cross-discipline dynamo plans to leave his mark on the road too.

After changing his original plans and skipping the Giro d'Italia, the 22-year-old is going to be one of the riders to watch at Le Tour – his second career Grand Tour after his debut in La Vuelta a Espana in 2021.

The young Briton is likely to ride the Grand Boucle in support of his INEOS teammate Adam Yates, but he might even have the chance to look for a stage win.

And that’s not all.

Once he will be done with his MTB season, Pidcock could even aim for the ‘triple rainbow’ while leading Team GB at the road cycling World Championships on the challenging 275km-course of Wollongong, Australia, on 25 September.

No man has ever held all three cycling world titles in history, and only one woman – Pauline Ferrand Prevot – managed to achieve the feat in her exceptional 2014-15 sesaon.

Whether Pidcock manages to accomplish that or not, for sure the rest of his 2022 will be very intense.