'Tom Pidcock will be up for it' - British Cycling chief backs Yorkshireman for Olympic double

Having spent Tuesday celebrating his 25th birthday and basking in the glow of a remarkable comeback victory in the mountain biking at Elancourt Hill the previous day, Pidcock has been steadily moving his thoughts towards the road race.

He told The Yorkshire Post last week he would settle for a silver or a bronze medal, but that was before his insatiable appetite for winning was whetted even further by that stunning Olympic title defence on Monday.

Now, across a gruelling 273km course with just 90 riders and national teams of only four riders, Pidcock goes for a third career Olympic gold with as good a chance as anyone.

Tadej Pogacar’s absence after citing fatique following his Giro d’Italia and Tour de France double has left the race wide open, although Wout van Aert and his Belgian counterpart Remco Evenepoel will be among the favourites.

But for Stephen Park, British Cycling’s performance director, Pidcock’s performance in the red-hot cauldron of the old quarry site at Elancourt Hill has proven beyond doubt that the Yorkshireman is hungry for success.

"Everyone else in the team will be happy that he’s shown he’s clearly got the legs and he’s in a winning mood after Monday,” said Park of a team that consists of Fred Wright, Josh Tarling and Steve Williams.

"I’m sure he’ll be enthused by Monday, he’ll be buoyed by his performance and as we know the road race will be a war of attrition, it’s the toughest race of the lot.

"Form doesn’t necessarily translate into the road race, we’ve seen that in the past.

"Tom is certainly going to be up for it and we’ll be right behind him.”