British cyclist Tom Pidcock to keep mixing up targets for as long as possible

Tom Pidcock is the British cyclist who can do it all and he wants to keep mixing up his targets for as long as possible.

As the Olympic mountain bike gold medalist, world cyclo-cross champion and an emerging star on the road, Pidcock’s versatility makes him the nation’s most exciting young talent.

In a world where cycling had become increasingly specialised, Pidcock belongs to a generation breaking those rules. For the Yorkshireman, variety is the key to success.

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It had been thought Pidcock was going to spend May at the Giro d’Italia, challenging four-time cyclo-cross world champion and former European mountain bike champion Mathieu Van Der Poel for stage victories.

Instead, after a difficult road Classics season followed his cyclo-cross world title in January, Pidcock got back on his mountain bike for the first time since winning gold in Tokyo.

The 22-year-old, enjoying the new-found respect that comes with his Olympic crown, delivered World Cup victories in Albstadt and Nove Mesto. This is how he resets.

“It’s been a nice couple of weeks’ racing,” Pidcock told the PA news agency. “The mountain bike world is a pleasant place to be. Everyone is chilled out, friendly. It’s nice to be back and also to be winning.

“The Classics season is quite full on. It’s nice to get away into my own little world and do my own thing. I enjoy it, and I’m pretty good at it.”

A change, they say, is as good as a rest. Given Pidcock barely allows himself an off-season between the three disciplines, he thrives on variety.

“Mentally it’s nice and refreshing,” he added. “It stops the monotony of just road riding, it changes things up. I’m not saying road riding is boring but when I get to change, it