Doubts over Tom Pidcock's Ardennes Classics involvement with Brit having 'no deadline' for return from injury following 'horror crash' in Catalunya
By Will Conroy
Published 13/04/2026 at 20:40 GMT+1
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Tom Pidcock's team do not know when the British rider will return to action following his "horror crash" at the Volta a Catalunya last month. The 26-year-old sustained a number of injuries after falling into a ravine during Stage five of the race. Before the upcoming Ardennes Classics, Pidcock's coach Kurt Bogaerts said there is "no deadline" for the Brit's return to racing.
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Doubt remains over whether Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) will race the Ardennes Classics after his team said he could be out for a lengthy spell following his "horror crash" at the Volta a Catalunya.
The British rider withdrew from the race last month after tumbling into a ravine during a descent on Stage five.
The 26-year-old managed to complete the stage following a change of bikes but confirmed the following day it was ”not possible” for him to continue, with his team saying that he had likely suffered ”bone and ligament damage, in particular to his right knee and right wrist."
Pidcock’s coach Kurt Bogaerts was giving little away about the rider’s fitness at Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix but suggested the upcoming Classics may come too soon.
Asked whether he could be facing a lengthy spell away from racing, Bogaerts said: "Could be, yes. It’s difficult to judge. You just try to get it fixed, then afterwards you can make a plan."
He added: ”We have no deadline. We don’t put a return to racing yet.”
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The Ardennes Classics see three prestigious one-day races take place across eight days in the Dutch Limburg region and Belgium's French-speaking Wallonia region.
They kick off this year on April 19 with Amstel Gold Race, before La Fleche Wallonne unfolds three days later, and they will come to an end on April 27 with Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the fourth Monument of the season.
There may well be an indication this Friday of Pidcock’s likelihood of competing, given the Brit had been scheduled to compete in the warm-up for the Ardennes in De Brabantse Pijl.
In a statement after his crash last month, confirming his withdrawal from Volta a Catalunya, Pidcock said: ”We did everything to try to make it to the start, but it’s not possible.
”I fought to finish the stage yesterday to make sure I had the option to continue. Now the focus is on recovery and I’ll be back.”
Team doctor Lorenz Emmert said at the time: ”Due to his crash he suffered injuries, most likely bone and ligament damage in particular to his right knee and also right wrist."
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Pidcock had started the day second in the general classification. However, the Brit was just grateful that his injuries were not more serious, admitting afterwards that he was "very lucky".
"I was drinking on the descent and misjudged a corner," Pidcock said in a team press release. "I overshot it and went down the ravine. It was like one of these horror crashes you see, but I'm very lucky that I am OK.
"I'll go for a check, but I think I'm OK. I am lucky I could talk on the radio. I was far from the road, and nobody knew I was there. I'm happy I could finish the stage."
He said on social media: "Today I lost a life for sure", adding: "I'm going to self-proclaim as a ninja crasher, 60kph off a mountain and I'm relatively OK."
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