Tour de France: 'Descending like a demon' - Why Britain's Tom Pidcock is 'the master' of downhill racing

Eurosport's Adam Blythe has provided some expert analysis as to why Britain's Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) is «the master» of downhill racing at the Tour de France. Pidcock set off on Thursday 11th in the general classification at 11’12”, but proceeded to make a huge statement of his abilities with a quite staggering descent with 128km remaining of the queen stage. Ad/> Pidcock somehow managed to wipe out a deficit of nearly two minutes over the initial breakaway with some truly terrifying expert cornering.

Neilson Powless (EF Education–EasyPost) had raced clear, but the 22-year-old swiftly closed the gap as he left fans stunned by his bike handling skills at breakneck speed, before flying past the American and leaving others in his dust. /> Tour de FranceWhy Pidcock is 'the master' at racing downhill and 'descending like a demon'AN HOUR AGO As Blythe explained in the Eurosport studio, Pidcock is not only supremely talented as a rider, but he also demonstrates the perfect techniques of bike handling and balance to control his bike on the demanding descents. «Tom Pidcock yesterday descended like a demon,» Blythe explained.

«You can see how wide his knee is out, trying to get that balance going into the corner. His arms are tucked right in, keeping low on the bike and his outside leg is completely straight, pushing down on the pedal to give him that stability. This is exactly how you need to descend, getting that balance.

»Tom is off the pedals a little bit and this is the difference between him and Neilson [Powless]. He has looked ahead of him to see how much road he has to use. Tom is already thinking about the next corner, while Powless is trying to correct himself.