'I'm more like I used to be' - Tom Pidcock back to roots and ready to set the bar higher at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

After runaway success in his early season campaign with his new team, Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) heads into the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad feeling upbeat about his chances and pleased to find himself back on familiar terrain in the cobbles of Flanders. And at the same time, as he put it, racing more than ever like he always used to do.

Just in his pro years, Belgium was where Pidcock took his first-ever pro win against a certain Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) in 2021 in the Brabantse Pijl. It was also where he took his best Monument finish - second in Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2023  - and of course, Q36.5's head coach and Pidcock's trainer Kurt Bogaerts is Belgian. 

As for Pidcock, himself his fondness for and familiarity with Belgium extends to the point where to the delight of local media, he even spoke a few words of Flemish during his pre-Omloop press conference on Friday.

Back in the present, Pidcock's current total of four wins makes him jointly the most prolifically successful racer of the 2025 peloton along with Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), taking victories in his first time participations in the AIUIa Tour, a GC win there, and Vuelta a Andalucia. However, as he faces his fifth Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the 25-year-old Briton is looking to getting to stuck in to some Belgian Classics racing on Saturday.

Perhaps what is most different compared to other years, though, is Pidcock's insistence that not only was he racing like he used to when he was younger, but  post-Ineos, with what he described on Friday as a "sense of liberation". Quite how far Pidcock will be able to use his new freedom of manouvre in his biggest challenge to date, we will only see on Saturday, but in this season, for Pidock it's definitely been a case of "so far, so very good".

Asked if he could use his previous races as reference points, he said, "I think AIUIa was bit different, it was not really hard til that one climb [on stage 4, where Pidcock took a second win]. But Ruta [the Vuelta a Andalucia, where he finished second overall as well winning a stage] 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 I never had the…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."

Asked for why he's picked up so many wins in the early season, all but doubling his previous career total of five victories to nine, Pidcock pointed out that all his previous wins had been in much bigger races.

"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."

Asked later in the press conference to develop that idea further about how he's changed, Pidcock said, "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.

"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."

Regarding the here and now, Pidcock's only racing Omloop and then going onto the Ardennes. 

"The Ardennes suit me well, so I think the idea of coming here was - I've been here every year since turning pro.

"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 [in France this weekend - Ed]."

The crunch issue for Q36.5 is perhaps their relative collective strength in an Omloop with a formidably deep field. But as Pidcock said, while he's aware that the opposition is powerful, his racing to date has given him a lot of confidence both in himself, but also in his team.

"I did look at the start list and there are some super strong teams. But I think we've shown how well we work together this year, that's one thing, and I also think  we have a pretty strong team on the start line, you know? 

"Fred [Frison], Fabio [Christen]... Kamil [Malecki] last year was 14th in Flanders, that's a good ride, so we  don't have a bad team, we shouldn't be afraid  lining up these guys racing into the numerous corners we'll be racing into tomorrow.

"There is no pressure, everything we do is more than what expectations are. And that's a nice place to be." 

Comparisons and scrutiny

Comparisons with previous seasons are always being made in cycling. But when the change for someone like Pidcock is from one team to another and at the last minute, the comparisons involve far more scrutiny.  

Pidcock has enjoyed an ideal start to the season with his new team, and while he wants to perform well, the sense of any external expectation has decreased dramatically. 

"If you look at my numbers, well you can compare, but I'm not very similar, they're much better, but that doesn't always relate to races, so…"

"Of course so many wins gives me confidence, I was really motivated and focused on trying to start well. I think that was really important for me. I've managed to do that, now it's taking that into other races. 

"Like I said, we're not a team with the pressure on us, so we can just race without that added pressure and just focus on what we need to do. This is a nice feeling to have."

And so Pidcock heads into Omloop, a race he calls predictable in terms of the way the event itself plays out, but where points of reference are much harder to find.

"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."

Rather than Van Aert, Pidcock points to a different racer as a possible top contender: "Jonnie Narváez [UAE Team Emirates]."

His own points of reference are a fifth and an eighth place as his best results to date. Although Pidcock has said previously that a podium finish would be ideal, it's clear he's not ruling anything out - or in.

"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."

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