Pidcock second in Diegem

28 Dec 2022

Pidcock second in Diegem

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Tom Pidcock continued his impressive run of form with a close second place at the Superprestige round in Diegem.

The Brit was at the heart of a fantastic battle under the floodlights in front of a packed Belgian crowd.

Pidcock hit the front at various times during the eight laps and battled hard to regain contact at points during a hotly contested race.

Wout Van Aert edged out the win after forcing his way to the front in the final metres, leading through the final corner and famous final stairs.

Mathieu van der Poel had looked like going clear at one point but was overhauled as Pidcock took up the chase on lap five. The Dutchman eventually finished in third place.

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot was also in action on the day, finishing 19th on the fast and technical course in the women's race.
Reaction

- Tom Pidcock

“I thought the last time I went over [Van Aert] I was a bit complacent and that I’d have the lead into the final stairs. But he just came past me on the final bit before the last bridge. At that point I was never going to beat him. He ran up those stairs and jumped on his bike before I’d even looked up.
 
“In practice I rode the right side (of the sand) every lap. Then I saw all the women were riding on the left side and it seemed less deep. So I decided to stick to the left side. It paid off because I think I rode the sand pretty good today.
 
“Honestly I think this was the easiest race from the last three. On the climb only a few laps we went full. On the climb it was a headwind so when we were together we were looking at each other. It’s just a shame I couldn’t pull it off, but it’s okay.”