Tom Pidcock is very strong but he doesn't want anyone to know it

With just a few days left until the start of the mountain bike season, which will have its first international event with the Shimano Supercup Massi La Nucía 2024, Tom Pidcock hints on his Strava that he is in ideal shape to face the Olympic year in which his main goal will be to revalidate the XCO gold won in Tokyo.

Tom Pidcock takes the most coveted KOM by professionals

For some years now, the region of Marina Alta in Alicante has become the preferred destination for cyclists to prepare their seasons. Mountain bike riders are no exception as, in addition to the excellent roads they have for all the physical work, they have areas of pure enjoyment when it comes to riding the mountain bike.

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One of those who is finalizing his season, both on the road and mountain bike, is the British Tom Pidcock ready to face the Olympic year in the best possible condition in which he will try to repeat the victory achieved at the Tokyo Olympics.

Pidcock arrives at the first race of the year in truly brutal form as could be seen, for a while, on his Strava account. The story is curious since, a couple of days before, the UAE Team Emirates rider and native of the area, Juan Ayuso managed to beat the Strava KOM corresponding to the Coll de Rates, the benchmark climb of the Marina Alta where all the teams do their tests.

New KOM on Coll de Rates set by Tom Pidcock (he deleted the file shortly afterwards)

Who believes in his GC-chances at the Tour de France? pic.twitter.com/kjO7cHUqVo

— Inside Out (@InsideOut2912) February 6, 2024

A couple of days later, the surprise came when Tom Pidcock managed to reduce the time marked by the Alicante native by no less than 18 seconds, brutal for a climb of just over 6 kilometers and gentle slopes where the differences between professionals are minimal.

However, the publication was quickly deleted or hidden by Tom Pidcock himself looking not to give clues about his form to rivals. A habit that is becoming common among professionals who, beyond hiding their power data or heart rate, directly only upload insignificant workouts, rides and recovery days publicly, to prevent others from knowing what form they are in.

Cyclists like Remco Evenepoel or Mathieu van der Poel have long stopped publishing activities on the popular platform so that no one can be aware of the physical condition in which they arrive at their most important appointments or, as happened to Tadej Pogacar last season, in case of suffering an accident or not being able to train for some reason, not to give clues to their rivals about their possible weakness.

In any case, Tom Pidcock's move this time has not worked out well and it has become clear that, once again, he will be one of the cyclists to beat in the imminent World Cup as well as, of course, in the Olympics. It remains to be seen how the INEOS Grenadiers rider will fit his road season into this year in which mountain biking seems to have absolute priority.