‘He is the standard’: Pidcock says Pogacar forcing him to be better rider

Tom Pidcock believes Tadej Pogacar is forcing him to become a better rider as the Slovenian continues his remarkable dominance of the cycling season.

Pogacar on Wednesday added La Flèche Wallonne to a palmarès that includes an incredible 12 wins in 18 days of racing this season. Having already won the Amstel Gold Race last weekend, Pogacar will start Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège aiming to become only the third man to complete a hat-trick of the Ardennes Classics.

The 24-year-old double Tour de France winner is inevitably earning comparisons with the great Eddy Merckx, and while challenging him is a daunting prospect for the rest of the peloton, Pidcock credits the UAE Team Emirates rider with raising the bar.

“He’s the best rider in the world right now, let’s not beat around the bush,” Pidcock said. “Each time we line up we try to figure out how we can beat him. I think as well, every time we race against him he also makes me better. He is the standard that me and everybody else needs to beat at the moment.”

There was almost an inevitability in the way Pogacar powered clear of the field on the Mur de Huy to win on Wednesday. Pidcock was in the lead group on the steepest sections of the climb but faded to finish 18th, days after taking third at the Amstel Gold Race.

Pidcock still believes he is missing “half a percent” after suffering concussion in a crash at Tirreno-Adriatico in March, forcing him to miss Milan-Sanremo and losing time on the bike, but put Wednesday’s result down to bad positioning on the approach to the decisive climb.

“We were at the back, we messed up our lead-in to the Mur,” Pidcock explained. “I did pretty decent numbers but my effort finished with 400 metres to go. I think it bodes well. It’s a