Pidcock further describes micro skills as “the feeling you get with the bike to be able to go around the corners as fast as we do with the grip that we have. That is the thing that takes everyone a little bit of time to get used to at the start of the season, even the best riders.”
“I think my strength is really my fitness. Then my weakness is probably my raw power like in deep, deep mud,” said Pidcock. Befitting his stronger power-to-weight as compared to raw power, he prefers climbing courses. He named both Namur and Hulst as his favorite tracks. In terms of courses at home in the U.K., Pidcock gave a shout out to Peel Park as a favorite venue. (Spoiler: it’s steep and slippery.)
Pidcock’s favorite course conditions? “This year I have been performing on the dry courses more than I have wet, but normally I’m better in the wet, so I’m not sure, probably wet I would say: slippy, technical wet,” said Pidcock.
Personally, Pidcock chose Grifo as his go-to favorite tire. He explained they are his most-often used tread. However, when discussing tire selection for newer riders, his advice was to buy Limus as one’s first tire: “Limus, for sure. Because you can ride everything with that, so if you are a new rider, you want one tire that can do everything. You also want the most grip if you are a novice.”
Pidcock and fellow professionals overcame their own tire selection challenges at the recent Val di Sole World Cup, which was intentionally contested on snow. Mechanics, riders, and directors rely on years of acquired knowledge regarding tire selection for various soil types. Comparatively, they have relatively little experience selecting tires for snow. “Well, that’s the thing, I think nobody really knew what to ride,” explained Pidcock.
Pidcock chose to race on Chicanes because of the feeling they gave him during preride. “In practice, I was struggling a little bit, not really feeling so comfortable,” said Pidcock. “The last lap, I switched to Chicanes, and then I just suddenly found a nice rhythm. We were like, ‘That’s it, we like this.”