Tom Pidcock played down expectations ahead of his cyclocross season debut and he was proven accurate, crashing and finishing in seventh place at the Superprestige event in Merksplas on Sunday.
The multi-discipline star was making his first appearance since becoming world champion in the USA back in January, but had warned there might not be any immediate fireworks in the rainbow jersey.
Noting that he usually takes a couple of weeks to get up to speed, Pidcock indeed appeared a little rusty on a cold and technical Merksplas course.
"It was beetje moeilijk," Pidcock said in his post-race TV interview, showing off his Flemish language skills in a phrase that means "a bit difficult".
Pidcock started strongly enough, riding much of the race in a stalwart group of contenders. Laurens Sweeck took flight early on and was never seen again, and Lars van der Haar went clear in pursuit, but Pidcock was part of a battle for third place for the first half of the race.
However, he started to lose ground on the fifth of eight laps, and any hope of a top result disappeared when he slid out on an innocuous-looking section ahead of a staircase.
"It was maybe not the best race to start with," Pidcock said of the technical Merksplas course. "On the corners I was losing so much time. My level was OK, but I was losing time in a lot of places."
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He once again showed off his Flemish, calling it "a Laurens Sweeck presentatie" - or exhibition - before declaring himself content with his own showing.
"I crashed, and there were just a few too many mistakes, but I'm happy. I was not bad."
In any case, Pidcock got his cyclocross campaign underway with the rainbow jersey on his shoulders and a custom white and rainbow Pinarello underneath him.
"It was good to wear the jersey. All the public were supporting and that was nice. Even if I wasn't in the front, it was nice to be wearing these colours again after quite a few years.
"To win in this jersey would be nice," he added.
He'll have another opportunity at the World Cup in Overijse on Sunday, after which his task is complicated by the return of four-time world champion Mathieu van der Poel next weekend, and three-time world champion Wout van Aert the weekend after that.
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Pidcock's bike
Tom Pidcock riding his new Crossista F (Image credit: Getty Images)
As well as the rainbow jersey, Pidcock was also debuting his new special-edition world champion's bike.
Pinarello developed its first performance cyclocross bike, the Crossista F, last year ahead of Pidcock's first 'cross campaign with Ineos Grenadiers.
He rode a navy British champion's version last season but he now has a new paintjob to celebrate his status as world champion.
The frame is white, with rainbow flashes on the fork and seat tube. The colours appear in a jagged formation on the fork and at the rear between the stays.
Rainbow patterns on the seat tube and tyres (Image credit: Getty Images)
The top tube also features a thin strip of rainbow colour, along with the motto 'play your cards right', which once again accompanies an image of playing cards within his eye-line.
'Play your cards right' (Image credit: Getty Images)
It appears Pidcock has made no major changes to his set-up, choosing Shimano Dura-Ace groupset and wheels, which are paired with Challenge Grifo tubular tyres that also feature a rainbow pattern on the tan wall.
The bottom bracket (Image credit: Getty Images)
Tom Pidcock's Pinarello Crossista F full bike specifications
Frameset: Pinarello Crossista F
Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 Di2 11-speed
Brakeset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9120 hydraulic disc
Wheels: Shimano Dura-Ace C40 carbon tubular
Tyres: Challenge Grifo tubular (choice may vary on the day)
Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.
