Tom Pidcock backed by Ed Clancy to be the man for all disciplines as Tour de France and Paris Olympics loom

Pidcock is a multi-dimensional cyclist who has excelled at the highest level on mountain bike, road bike and cyclo-cross as well.

He is already an Olympic champion on his mountain bike and a Tour de France stage winner on the road.

His team Ineos Grenadiers want to eventually make him a Tour de France yellow jersey winner to continue their long tradition of getting British riders on the top step of the podium at the sport’s most famous race.

But the 24-year-old from Leeds is very much his own man, and someone who loves riding his mountain bike.

This summer he will lead the Ineos team at the Tour de France for three weeks at the start of July and then swap to his mountain bike to try and defend his Olympic title in that discipline at Elancourt Hill outside Paris on Monday July 29.

He has already stated that his priority for this year is winning a second Olympic gold medal on the mountain bike and Clancy – a triple Olympic champion on the track – says go for it.

“He’ll be hot favourite for the mountain bike gold, he’s a machine and one of the most exciting prospects this country has had for decades,” said Clancy, no stranger to being able to identify great riders having ridden with Mark Cavendish and Sir Bradley Wiggins throughout his career.

Expanding on Pidcock’s future dilemma about whether to prioritise road or mountain bike, Clancy added: “I’ve always quite liked the idea of less but better.

“For the vast majority of people if you want to be very, very good at one thing in life – and this is not just unique to sport – you’ve just got to do the one thing.

“Tom has got bike-handling skills that are never going to leave him, he can jump on any bike and ride it better than anybody else.

“I don’t really see a conflict in what he’s doing there. If he rides a Tour de France and he’s not completely exhausted the final week and he can get off that and quickly recover, he’s still very young, he’ll take to his mountain bike like a duck to water, get his second Olympic gold medal, it sounds like the perfect plan.

“For me it’s a synergy rather than a conflict of interests.”

Pidcock has shown flashes of what he is capable of at a Tour de France of course, winning a stage on Alpe d’Huez in 2022 through a daring descent when the speedometer touched 100 kilometres per hour.

Clancy is at Alpe d’Huez this July, taking on a week-long residency at the exclusive Club Med resort in the French Alps.

Clancy will be taking guests on four rides including one up the 21 switchbacks of the famous Alpe d’Huez climb, as well as hiking, mountain biking and a spot of yoga. People have until June 7 to book.

Will the 39-year-old – who won team pursuit gold at the Beijing, London and Rio Olympics, be descending the Alpine passes in true Pidcock style?

“Ha, no chance,” laughs Clancy. “He had closed roads, so could take a few more risks.

“That descent really put Tom on the map. People forget how strong his legs were on that day.

“I think that’s what makes him one of the best riders in the world. Look at Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock - arguably the three best all-round bike riders in the world. They’re all great bike handlers having come from cyclo-cross, mountain biking.

“That’s what makes cycling the best sport in the world for me, it’s so multi-dimensional.

“Descending, tactical awareness, riding as a team, bike-handling skills, aerodynamics, all rolled into one sport.”

To book a spot with Ed Clancy at Club Med visit https://www.clubmed.co.uk/l/ed-clancy-cycling-residency