'Heart in your mouth' – Tom Pidcock compared to Lionel Messi after terrifying descent at Tour de France

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) dropped a descending masterclass on the Col du Galibier as he ripped clear on Stage 12 at the Tour de France. The Brit, who began the day 11th in the general classification at 11’12”, was unleashed with 128km remaining of the queen stage to Alpe d’Huez and set about closing the gap to the day’s breakaway. Ad/> Pidcock had nearly two minutes to close but quickly hoovered up the other chasers, including four-time champion Chris Froome (Israel–Premier Tech), with some terrific (and terrifying) cornering.

The two Brits formed an alliance and soon made it to the front of the race. Tour de France'We have to take risks' — Cummings demands bravery in quest for Tour glory12/07/2022 AT 13:28 But Pidcock was not done. After Neilson Powless (EF Education–EasyPost) raced clear from the break, the 22-year-old set off again on the downhill.

He soon closed the gap as he showed off bike handling skills at breakneck speed, before flying past the American and enjoying the open roads as those behind failed to keep pace. Only Powless was within touching distance as the descent flattened out, with both riders easing up and allowing the group to reform ahead of two more tough climbs. Rob Hatch compared Pidcock’s descending instincts to those of legendary footballer Lionel Messi.

“I’m going to compare this, when I talk about seeing things, to a footballer like Messi, who sees a pass that exists where a normal midfielder or attacker might not,” said Hatch. “The way I talk about seeing corners is that Pidcock, he has that [ability] somewhere, inside him. He can spot which way to go round, he’s supremely confident, technically brilliantly, he’s just on a different level.” Adam Blythe explained just how rare Pidcock’s