Tom Pidcock relishing Q36.5 'liberation', aims to carry early success into Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Updated 28/02/2025 at 17:58 GMT
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Tom Pidcock is savouring the "fresh motivation" he has found with Q36.5 after witnessing a successful early season before Opening Weekend at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The Briton is one of the leading favourites for the race in Flanders, Belgium, alongside several big names. The first of the Spring Classics Omloop, and the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne are live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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Tom Pidcock says he feels more like he used to, as he heads into Saturday's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as one of the leading favourites for the Flanders race.
After leaving Ineos Grenadiers for Swiss team Q36.5, the Briton tasted success early in the season ahead of the first Cobbled Classic of 2025.
The 25-year-old took two stages and the overall classification at the AlUla Tour in Saudi Arabia, and won a stage at the Vuelta a Andalucia last week to set the stage for a battle with race favourite Wout van Aert in Belgium.
"I think AIUIa was bit different, it was not really hard until that one climb [on stage 4]," Pidcock said. "But Ruta [the Vuelta a Andalucia] was hard racing.
"I know my shape is good, so it's nice go into this race with those feelings, but as well, this race, I've always - I wouldn't say struggled, but… it's a difficult race for me to win compared to other Classics.
"I've always struggled near the end on the Mur on the Bosberg. So, to be honest, it would be easy to do better than I've done before in this race.
"Of course the number [of victories] is one thing, and I really wanted to start well. But also I think I'm also a better rider now and that's because of this team and the people in it who are now supporting me. I wouldn't say I'm a different rider, I'm just more like I used to be."
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Afer leaving Ineos, Pidcock made the move to Q36.5 and labelled the decision "the best" of his career.
"It think it's more a sense of liberation, coming here - fresh motivation, fresh start, that extra energy to look at all the details. Also coming here now, the performance side here is really quite impressive, that's made a big difference to me," he explained.
"I'm relishing that opportunity of having that responsibility and that involvement in the team, if you like. I feel involved, I feel the importance.
"How do I say it? It's like I owe them and they owe me, and our relationship is definitely what's driving everything, I think."
Omloop takes riders on the road to high-profile Monuments such as Milano-Sanremo, where Pidcock will race before tackling the Ardennes Classics in April.
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"The Ardennes suit me well, so I think the idea of coming here was - I've been here every year since turning pro," he said.
"So I think it's a nice race that I'm familiar with, it's good to set up the rest of the Classics. Also I enjoy racing in Belgium, it's nicer than doing Drome Ardeche."
Omloop opens the season with, in Pidcock's view, an "unpredictability" that has seen eight different riders win the last eight editions. This year sees Pidcock contend with Visma-Lease a Bike's Van Aert and Jhonatan Narvaez, making his pave debut for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, as two of the favourites.
"Every year you race and there's one point where the race splits, but the unpredictability is that not everybody has raced everybody. It's a nice race to understand where you are," he said.
"It'll be nice to see where everyone else is, there's definitely a strong start list here.
"There are quite a lot of sprinters here and it's a headwind final, which doesn't make it easy for an attacking race. But it's a little bit in the race's hands and how it plays out as to how I finish.
"We'll do our part to get in the right place at the right time and that's all we can do."
When is Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2025?
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad takes place on Saturday, March 1, with both the men's and women's races taking place on the same day.
How to watch Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2025
You can watch all the action at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad live on TNT Sports and ad-free on discovery+.
Following Eurosport's integration into TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland, all cycling action from Omloop onwards will be broadcast on TNT Sports and discovery+.
The men's race will be live on TNT Sports 2 and discovery+ from 12:00 GMT, while coverage of the women's race begins at 15:00 GMT.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
Stream the 2025 cycling season, including the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes, live on discovery+
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