The Ineos-Grenadiers Cycling team confirmed the departure on Wednesday “at the end of the season” of the British Tom Pidcock, double Olympic mountain bike champion, a rupture which comes against a backdrop of nagging tensions.
Left out of the Tour of Lombardy in October
The 25-year-old versatile rider, winner at Alpe d’Huez during the 2022 Tour de France, joined the powerful British team in 2021 and was under contract until 2027. Tensions have nevertheless emerged between the two parties in recent years. month. The most visible came in October when he was sidelined from the Tour of Lombardy, the day before the start of the race. “While everything was better after a turbulent year, I am deselected for Lombardy tomorrow. I’m in great shape and I was really looking forward to it! »he wrote on Instagram.
This year, Pidcock won the Amstel Gold Race in April, took part in the Tour de France in July before successfully defending his Olympic mountain bike title in Paris that same month. “We are very proud of the work we have done with Tom to help him have extraordinary and memorable moments. Together we have written an important chapter and shown how exciting and diverse professional cycling can be”commented the CEO of Ineos-Grenadiers, John Allert.
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“Tom has big, multidisciplinary goals and we believe this decision allows us both to pursue our future ambitions with clarity and determination”he added in the press release.
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