Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock make their return to cyclocross today, generating significant headlines in Belgium. The British former world champion doesn’t hide that his main goal in 2024 is the Tour de France and, even so, he intends to put on a good performance during the cyclocross season.
“It’s good to be back. I have no expectations today as I’ve only done one cyclocross training. So we’ll see. My fitness is good, but my technique… I’ll need every minute to practice my technique today,” said Pidcock to the Belgian channel Sporza on Saturday morning. “Mathieu is always good. Today won’t be an exception.”
Herentals is a circuit where two years ago, Pidcock finished second behind Wout van Aert, while last year Mathieu van der Poel outperformed van Aert.
“I have many goals in the summer, so I use the winter as preparation. It will be a long summer with the Tour and the Olympics. Doing a Cyclocross World Championship now is difficult,” reveals Pidcock.
Big goal in 2024
The general classification in the Tour de France is actually the big goal, something that may not be easy to achieve with a preparation fully focused on mountain biking: “I want to prove my worth in the Tour. Last year I really didn’t know what I wanted and what the team wanted. I didn’t have a clear goal, and I paid the price for it. I came home with nothing.”
“Top 10 in the Tour de France?
“This year I want to fully focus on the general classification. Finishing in the Top 10? That’s not really my motivation. My goal will become clearer after a few stage races early in the year. I believe in myself more than last year, but only later I can specifically say what my goal is.”