Tour de France: 'Descending like a demon' - Why Britain's Tom Pidcock is 'the master' of downhill racing
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Updated 15/07/2022 at 11:47 GMT
Britain's Tom Pidcock wowed cycling fans on Thursday as he "descended like a demon", according to Eurosport's Adam Blythe. Pidcock stormed to victory on Stage 12 of the Tour de France with some truly terrifying and extraordinary downhill racing that demonstrated that he is "the master" at the techniques required to thrive when flying on the dangerous descents.
Why Pidcock is 'the master' at racing downhill and 'descending like a demon'
Eurosport's Adam Blythe has provided some expert analysis as to why Britain's Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) is "the master" of downhill racing at the Tour de France.
Pidcock set off on Thursday 11th in the general classification at 11’12”, but proceeded to make a huge statement of his abilities with a quite staggering descent with 128km remaining of the queen stage.
Pidcock somehow managed to wipe out a deficit of nearly two minutes over the initial breakaway with some truly terrifying expert cornering. Neilson Powless (EF Education–EasyPost) had raced clear, but the 22-year-old swiftly closed the gap as he left fans stunned by his bike handling skills at breakneck speed, before flying past the American and leaving others in his dust.
As Blythe explained in the Eurosport studio, Pidcock is not only supremely talented as a rider, but he also demonstrates the perfect techniques of bike handling and balance to control his bike on the demanding descents.
"Tom Pidcock yesterday descended like a demon," Blythe explained.
"You can see how wide his knee is out, trying to get that balance going into the corner. His arms are tucked right in, keeping low on the bike and his outside leg is completely straight, pushing down on the pedal to give him that stability. This is exactly how you need to descend, getting that balance.
"Tom is off the pedals a little bit and this is the difference between him and Neilson [Powless]. He has looked ahead of him to see how much road he has to use. Tom is already thinking about the next corner, while Powless is trying to correct himself. He has so much more distance coming out of the corner.
"The key to descending is always coming through the corners as fast as possible, getting out with as much speed as possible. The less sprints you have to make out of the corners, the more energy you can save. It is about being fluid and relaxed on the bike, and Tom Pidcock is the master at it."
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‘Gave everyone a lesson’ – Wiggins salutes Pidcock’s daredevil descending
Eurosport commentator Rob Hatch compared Pidcock’s mastery of the descents to the skills and talent of legendary footballer Lionel Messi.
“I’m going to compare this, when I talk about seeing things, to a footballer like Messi, who sees a pass that exists where a normal midfielder or attacker might not,” said Hatch.
“The way I talk about seeing corners is that Pidcock, he has that [ability] somewhere, inside him. He can spot which way to go round, he’s supremely confident, technically brilliantly, he’s just on a different level.”
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‘This isn’t his full potential!’ – Pidcock has ‘another gear’ after Tour debut win
Fellow expert Dan Lloyd claimed Pidcock could be a frightening prospect should he throw everything at a Grand Tour tilt in the future.
“Based on how he’s ridden in this Tour de France and the age that he is. I know he’s not that much younger than Tadej Pogacar, but he’s still developing and he’s not specialised in one discipline,” said Lloyd.
“Once he does turn his eye to concentrating on road racing, if he does develop into someone who’s right up there on Grand Tours… can you imagine Tom Pidcock being right up there, a minute off the race lead, there’s a stage that finishes down a descent. I mean, that could be quite spectacular to watch.”
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Stream the Tour de France live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.
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