Less than a month removed from the sort of crash riders fear most in road cycling, Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) returned to the winner’s rostrum on Wednesday, 22 April, sprinting to victory in a reduced bunch finish on stage three of the 2026 Tour of The Alps in Arco, Italy.
The double Olympic mountain bike champion struggled a bit on the first climb of the day, but came into his own as the stage progressed. His victory served as a welcome show of strength following a horrific crash on stage six of the Volta a Catalunya .
“In my last race before the crash, I was in top form,” Pidcock told race organisers. “But today I found myself suffering at the back of the bunch, even dropped on the first climb: I had to change my mindset.”
Having finished second behind two-time world champion Tadej Pogačar at Milano-San Remo, Pidcock seemed poised for a productive spring. Then, it all came undone in one corner at the Volta a Catalunya in late March.
“I was drinking on the descent and misjudged a corner,” Pidcock told the BBC. “I overshot it and went down the ravine. It was like one of these horror crashes you see [on television]. I am lucky I could talk on the radio.”
Ruled out of the race on medical grounds, Pidcock returned to action at the Tour of The Alps. He narrowly missed out on stage one, but came back in a big way on stage three.
“When I got back on, and felt the legs responding better on the second climb, I told the team we’d go for the stage: pulling it off felt amazing,” added the joyful Briton.
Heading off a late attack from Australia’s Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla), Pidcock positioned himself like a seasoned sprinter, taking control at the front of the race.
Rounding the final corner with optimal speed and positioning, the multi-discipline star launched into a biting kick that couldn’t be matched by Italian general classification contender Tommaso Dati (Team UKYO), or Colombian Tour de France winner Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers).
“I opened up from quite a way out,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to get boxed in because I knew it was my best chance to go for the win. With hindsight, I launched my sprint a bit too long, but in the end, it worked out.”
He’ll look to repeat that sort of tactical brilliance at Liége-Bastogne-Liége on Sunday, 26 April.
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/tom-pidcock-road-cycling-comeback-tour-of-the-alps-stage-win
