Tom Pidcock 'stuck' between chasing GC and stage wins at Tour de France – Luke Rowe backs podium push

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) is «stuck» between pursuing a high overall finish at the 2023 Tour de France and chasing stage wins, according to his team-mate Luke Rowe, who backed the British star to fight for a podium spot. Pidcock wrote off his own hopes of winning the yellow jersey before the first pedal stroke, claiming he was «not good enough» to challenge Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) this year. Ad Yet he has avoided incident and held his own in the mountains to sit eighth in the general classification after 12 stages, albeit 5'26" back on leader Vingegaard.

Tour de FrancePidcock claims he is 'not good enough' to win Tour in 202301/07/2023 AT 12:28 With Vingegaard and Pogacar in a league of their own at the front, a separate battle for the final spot on the podium is forming. Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe) currently leads the way, 2'40" off Vingegaard, with Pidcock's team-mate Carlos Rodriguez fourth at 4'22" after also flying under the radar. But Pidcock is also in the frame after coming to the fore on the iconic Puy de Dome climb on Stage 9, finishing alongside fellow podium hopeful Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) and putting time into the likes of Hindley and Rodriguez.

Rowe, who is not competing at the Tour, dialled into The Breakaway after Stage 12 to discuss how his team-mate might approach the second half of the race. «I think he's stuck between a rock and a hard place,» said Rowe. «He's a guy who wants to go and win races, but I think he's learning a lot about himself these three weeks.