Tom Pidcock came into the 2025 Vuelta a España with the stated aim of targeting the general classification and with two top 10s in the first two stages; he is already well-placed at this early point in the race. However, despite what he told the cameras in a brief post-stage exchange in the mist, there was a slight air of frustration percolating from the Brit after he was unable to capitalise on the work of his Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.
“I can be happy with how I rode to be honest. I always take a few days to get into a race but we committed - I didn’t have the legs but I’ll try again another time,” Pidcock stated at the finish.
Q36.5 paced hard during the stage to keep the break in check and set up their leader on a finish suited to his punchy attributes. An understandable tactic as Grand Tour stages are hard to come by and to claim one would be the biggest result in the team’s history. It’s commendable for the team to do so but Pidcock could have come top 10 on the stage without the team doing any work on the front at all.
Fighting for the win at the end of a stage when everyone is going flat-out anyway is one thing but taking up the mantle of chasing the break can be left to the bigger squads. Q36.5 should wait for the likes of Visma-Lease a Bike — who won the stage thanks to the overall favourite Jonas Vingegaard’s kick — UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Lidl-Trek, to do the graft of controlling the break. All of these squads boasted more probable contenders for the stage finish to Limone Piemonte than Pidcock, like Vingegaard, Juan Ayuso and Giulio Ciccone.
The general classification at a Grand Tour is about saving energy whenever possible. A major part of this is not doing the work that others would be willing to do — especially if they are a more-established superteam like Visma or UAE. There is an argument that if Pidcock is truly going for general classification, then Q36.5 should do as little work as possible. That’s not to say they shouldn’t bookmark stages for Pidcock to target but they simply don’t have the resources to control breakaways for stages and support his general classification bid.
Staying out of trouble from the constant threat of crashing is hard enough. Pidcock, like Vingegaard, came down inside the final hour of racing of stage two. Pidcock said it didn’t affect his performance on the final climb, “I don’t feel anything to be honest. I don’t know if my bike might be a bit damaged but no issues really. I wanted to change it, my back wheel was wobbling but it seems ok now.”
Vingegaard is the overwhelming favourite to win this Vuelta. Pidcock isn’t supposed to win, especially not against the polished major squads. But he could come in the top five and it’s his darkhorse status that makes his bid so dangerous to the other top 10 contenders. He arrives not with the weight of expectation, but with a sharpened edge — one honed by his versatility.
He is the wildcard. The 2025 Vuelta route suits him — punchy finales, scattered chaos, a race built for improvisation. But for all the flair, Q36.5 need to understand that they can’t control this Vuelta. Their tactic should be subterfuge. Measure their efforts, and trust that Pidcock can make the difference at the moment the race fractures.
It’s a game of burden shifting, of psychological leverage. Each summit finish, each wind-blasted plateau is a chance to let someone else blink first. And if he’s still there in week three? Then the real race begins. Pidcock doesn’t need the race to revolve around him. In fact, he should prefer it if it doesn’t.
