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Tom Pidcock rails against UCI “rule changing shit show” after world champs win

World champ is not holding back

August 13, 2023
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When the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) made its 11th-hour decision to change the rules determining start-grid order for the elite cross country Olympic race, many lumped Tom Pidcock in with Mathieu van der Poel and Peter Sagan as a beneficiary (the latter of which probably wasn’t that thrilled either, as he was shown on the live feed being passed by groups of riders at a time). The UCI’s overly defensive statements on the matter did nothing to dissuade fans of this idea. Pidcock, though, was less than impressed with the decision.

After winning the elite men’s cross country race, Pidcock did not hold back in telling the UCI what he thought. In post-race interviews, he called the decision “bullshit.” Later on, he posted a full statement, and explanation of his position on Twitter.

“I didn’t want to get involved in this rule changing shit show before the race but I feel something needs to be said. Even though this did end up benefiting me (1 row up) I’m in complete dis-agreement with it. This rule wasn’t made for me or requested by me or from my camp,” Pidcock explained, hinting at who the lone beneficiary might be.

“I sacrificed 3 weeks of prep for the TDF extending my spring before taking a break in order try get as many points as I could for this world champs. If a rule like this is to be made, it needs to be at the start of the year. I support the rider representatives position”

Rule change came at a cost to Pidcock, too

Some might say it’s a little rich for the Brit to join in with the other racers after benefiting from the rule change. But, as he points out, he really didn’t move all that far forward on the start grid. Because he’d spent the time to earn mountain bike points earlier in the spring, he only moved forward one row on the start grid.

And Pidcock does have grounds to be upset, even with the rainbow jersey now in hand. Taking the time to earn those points came at a heavy cost. The Brit spent three weeks hunting UCI points at French Cup and Swiss Cup races and at the Nove Mesto World Cup weekend, where he came away with a XCC/XCO double win. That clearly affected his performance at the Tour de France, which was not at the same level as in 2022.

Pidcock also forewent racing road worlds, unlike van der Poel, to focus on the XCO race. As he said in his post-race interviews in Glentress, everything was riding on success in the mountain bike race. Skipping racing what could be his only chance at a home road world championships in the near future is, obviously, no small matter.

Tom Pidcock worked steadily through traffic in Saturday’s elite men’s XCO championship race. Photo: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool

Spotlight on UCI

For someone with the stature in the sport that Pidcock has to speak out against the UCI, especially right after winning the world championships, is a huge indictment of the organization’s actions. It is a positive sign that, while Pidcock might not race a full mountain bike calendar any time soon, it’s not just a sideshow for the Brit.

Yes, it would have been better to have joined voices with Schurter and the athlete group the day before the race. But at least Pidcock isn’t staying silent.