Pidcock secures first cyclo-cross victory of the season in Belgium

Tom Pidcock fought his way through the pack to secure his first victory in just his second race of the season as the British rider excelled during an exciting day of action at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Namur, Belgium.

One day after making his first cyclocross appearance of the season at the X2O Trofee Herentals, Pidcock started strongly as he quickly worked his way through the field, picking off riders as he chased down those who started on the front row.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider gradually closed the gap on the leading trio of Pim Ronhaar, Joris Nieuwenhuis and Ryan Kamp, with the Dutch riders taking control of the race and separating themselves from the rest of the field.

While the challengers fell away, Pidcock worked his way into contention and soon overhauled Kamp and Nieuwenhuis before starting his pursuit of Ronhaar.

Pidcock managed to take the lead on lap seven and soon found himself with a nine-second lead before a flat tyre led to some late drama. Fortunately, the pits were close and the British rider was able to maintain his lead and secure the win.

Pidcock, 24, said: “I learned from the last time I raced here that the last laps are where it really counts. If you go too deep in the start you make mistakes in the end and you can lose 30 seconds easily, so I was just waiting and waiting. It’s a nice start.”