Tom Pidcock: ‘Of course I want to be’ at the Tour de France

This article originally appeared on Velo News

Tom Pidcock has firmly thrown his hat into the ring when it comes to racing the Tour de France and making Ineos Grenadiers' eight-rider selection.

Pidcock is racing at the Tour de Suisse, and finished fourth on stage 3 behind Peter Sagan on Tuesday. The race marks Pidcock’s first stage race since an illness hit spring that saw his power in the classics severely diminished due to stomach problems.

"The official selection still needs to be made, so until that's done nothing is certain, but of course I want to be," he told VeloNews from the Tour de Suisse.

The Olympic mountain bike champion was initially on the long list for the Giro d'Italia, but opted to take a break from road racing during May as he decided to build up his form and dovetail that with his ambitions in mountain biking.

Also read: Analyzing Ineos Grenadiers' Tour de France long list

The 22-year-old signed a contract extension with Ineos Grenadiers during the spring and is in contention for making his Tour de France debut in the summer.

The team is expected to line up with Adam Yates and Dani Martinez as the two main leaders for the GC, while Filippo Ganna will target the yellow jersey in the first time trial in Denmark. The rest of the team will be announced after the Tour de Suisse.

On stage 3 in the Tour de Suisse Ineos raced on the front foot and put Pidcock into a perfect position coming into the final sprint. Geraint Thomas, who had earlier taken three seconds at the final intermediate sprint, hit the front inside the final kilometer with Pidcock on his wheel. A late charge from Alexandre Kristoff and his leadout put Pidcock just off the front as the race took the final tight corner before the sprint.

"Yeah, I found myself in a good position, and Geraint did a great job at the end keeping me at the front," Pidcock said.

Sagan proved to be the fastest, taking his first win of the season. Pidcock's form as the Tour de France comes into view will be keenly monitored as Ineos finalize their lineup.

"The idea was to give the sprint a go if I found myself in a good place and I'm glad I did,” he said. “I wasn't the fastest but the guys around me are proper sprinters and I'm a bit smaller than them. Yes, positioning was key. It was chaotic with not much control from any particular team."

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