Pidcock wins his first stage with the Q36.5

We announced in the preview of the AlUla Tour that the route of the race with three completely flat stages and two with very explosive finishes was perfect for Tom Pidcock, who was making his debut with his new team Q36.5. An stage in which we also witnessed a familiar duel in XCO races, as the only one who tried to challenge Pidcock was the current World Champion in the discipline, South African from Jayco-AlUla, Adam Hatherly

Tom Pidcock wins the second stage of the AlUla Tour fulfilling the predictions

Tom Pidcock did not disappoint in the race where he debuted with Q36.5 and, right from the start, in the first uphill finish of the AlUla Tour, he sealed the stage with a sharp and precise attack in the explosive final, a climb of 1.6 km with ramps reaching up to 22%.

The second stage of the AlUla Tour was marked by its neutralization after the first passage through the finish line of the three that the cyclists had to do in an interesting final circuit that faced the mentioned wall on several occasions. However, after that first passage, the deplorable state of the road led the judges to neutralize the race to ensure the safety of the cyclists, deciding to eliminate one of the laps and conclude the stage directly on the next ascent.

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Tom Pidcock makes his debut in the AlUla Tour with the Q36.5 team

Therefore, the dispute of the stage was reduced to a handful of kilometers that almost left the cyclists facing an effort more typical of cyclocross, with a full-on relaunch to almost directly face the final ascent.

An ascent where the Bahrain-Victorious cyclists tried to set the pace, but their effort was short-lived when experience and youth began to show their class for the UAE Team Emirates-XRG. We are talking about Rafal Majka, who left the group completely selected, while at his wheel was the latest gem of Spanish cycling, the 18-year-old neo, Adrià Pericas, who, however, could barely continue his teammate's work.

All this while, in the background, a Tom Pidcock with a feeling of complete ease, let others make the moves and only moved to control the movements, while the XCO World Champion, Adam Hatherly, tried to keep him in check.

However, Hatherly's vigilance was of little use, as Pidcock launched an unstoppable attack 600 meters from the finish. Hatherly could only empty himself until the finish line, trying to minimize the damage, but his effort not only went unrewarded, but the South African was overtaken by Bahrain-Victorious cyclist Rainer Keplinger just a few meters from the finish line.

In any case, the differences in the general classification are minimal, with Keplinger 8 seconds behind Pidcock and Adam Hatherly occupying the provisional third step of the podium, 13 seconds behind. Therefore, everything is completely open for the queen stage of the race, which will take place on Friday, January 31st.