English duo work together as Pidcock adds gravel cycling stage victory to his incredible CV of big cycling wins
Olympic gold medallist Tom Pidcock powered to victory on Stage 5 of the Nedbank Gravel Burn in South Africa – before revealing how fellow Brit Alistair Brownlee had played a key role in his success.
Part of the leading pack as they headed up toward the summit finish on Swaershoek Pass, near Cradock in the Eastern Cape, the English duo were well placed with only four kilometres remaining of a tough 137km day five trek.
It was triathlon legend Brownlee – Olympic gold medalist in both Rio and London – who spotted the opportunity to ‘go for it’ when it arose, and he wasted no time in urging his compatriot on to make a dramatic late break for the finishing line.
Enjoying the experience
Neither rider had troubled the top ten on the first four stages of this 800km stage race across the Great Karoo Plateau, with both athletes keen to enjoy the experience rather than challenge for daily podium places.
However, there is clearly something in the DNA of these riders that means when the opportunity for victory presents itself, they simply cannot ignore it, and Pidcock romped away to win by 43 seconds over second-placed Andreas Seewald (GER) and a minute ahead of Simon Pellaud (SUI) in third.
Regarded as one of the most versatile cyclists in the professional ranks, Pidcock will add this gravel stage victory to an already impressive list of big race wins, including Olympic cross-country mountain bike golds at the Tokyo and Paris Games, World Championship titles in both cross-country and cyclo-cross and two further European Championships in cross-country.
Having focused predominantly on road racing this year, the 26-year-old created history by becoming the first male Olympic mountain bike champion to podium at a Grand Tour event – finishing third in the Vuelta a España while riding for the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.
While his first four stages had seen him finish 32nd, 37th, 14th and 25th, he admitted that he had been eyeing up Thursday’s leg as a potential to come away with a victory as the riders made their way from Blaauwater to Merino Farm.
“It looked to me to be the easiest stage, with only one climb to do,” said Pidcock. “That’s why I thought I would have a go. But it was actually Alistair Brownlee’s idea. He persuaded me… Right at the end of the stage, he told me to go for it, so I did.
‘I have been suffering all year…’
“Everyone has been saying to me, ‘You should try to win a stage’. But the riding is tough. I have been suffering all year. I don’t want to suffer here too!
“I am loving this event. Everything is very cool. A highlight for me has been the camaraderie amongst all the riders, eating with everyone, sitting around the fire at night, and just getting to know all the other participants.”
The win sees Pidcock now in 29th place overall, while Brownlee’s best finish of the week in 13th means he stays in 28th. Fellow Briton Lawrence Carpenter is in 32nd place overall, having finished in 21st.
Matt Beers retains his overall lead, though his advantage over Pellaud has narrowed to just 33 seconds with two stages remaining before the finish at Shamwari Private Game Reserve on Saturday.
Beers appeared to take his foot off the gas slightly on Thursday, riding defensively and rarely spending much time at the front. But with two stages remaining, everything is on the line in this battle of the hometown favourite and the Swiss rider.
“Day five is normally my worst day on these stage races,” said Beers. “I didn’t feel bad, but the heat definitely affected me today. Coming up to the climb, Simon attacked me there. I knew he would, so I just had to hold my own pace and not get overexcited.
“I lost about 24 seconds in the end. It sucks to lose the time, but it could have been worse. At one point, I think he had gained 40 seconds on me, so it’s not too bad. I just did everything I could to stay in touch.
‘Two big days left’
“We still have two big days left – we are quite even, so it’s going to be tight. I think my technical skills could give me the advantage over the next two days, but I have no idea what we are really in for.”
Pellaud was happy with his ride but felt he had maybe missed an opportunity to cut further into Beers’ lead: “I made some time, but not enough. Not enough time. That was definitely the plan today, to try and chip away at Matt’s lead, but I am not a climber, so I couldn’t get away from him. I just pushed the pedals as much as I could for as long as I could. I don’t think it was enough.”
In the Pro Women’s race, France’s Axelle Dubau-Prevot returned to winning form, storming away on the final climb of Swaershoek Pass to claim victory ahead of the USA’s Lauren Stephens.
Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio finished third on the day and continues to lead the General Classification, with Melisa Rollins and Hayley Preen completing the top three overall.
Moolman-Pasio said the pace was slower than expected but put it down to the individual nature of gravel racing: “It was a little bit slow at times, which I guess is unique to gravel racing. In road racing, we have teams for a reason, so that when someone is tired, someone else can go to the front and push. In gravel, we are all individuals, so if there isn’t a collective decision to push the pace, it doesn’t seem to happen.”
Stephens was the first to attack on the final climb with around 10km to go, but both Dubau-Prevot and Moolman-Pasio were able to respond.
“All credit to Lauren and Axelle,” said Moolman-Pasio. “They really started to push the pace at the end. I am suffering from a bit of a head cold, but I was able to go with them for a while.”
Minor crash for GC leader
Moolman-Pasio then had a minor crash while looking for the smoothest surface, allowing Dubau-Prevot to inch ahead. The French rider did slow down to ask Moolman-Pasio how she wanted to finish the race; Moolman-Pasio told Dubau-Prevot to keep racing.
She did just that and claimed the win, a hilltop high after a disappointing Stage 4.
“I still feel so good – maybe I even feel too good, and that’s why I got too excited yesterday,” said a considerably happier Dubau-Prevot. “Today I decided to do what I do best, and that was just concentrate on riding well. I honestly feel like I am a new rider every day, like I am starting a new race every morning and not in the middle of a stage race.
“I am learning every day from my colleagues here how to be a strong but also smart athlete, especially from Lauren and Ashleigh. I am not that young in age, but I am young in stage race experience, and they are showing me how to do it.
“Yesterday was a big lesson for me, so today I was feeling strong, but I knew I had to be smarter. I just rode and waited for my opportunity.”
British rider Madeleine Nutt finished Stage 5 in 10th place as she rose to 11th in the GC, Ruth Astle is in 14th after a 19th-place finish, and Sophie Wright is 22nd overall after coming home in 23rd.
Gravel Burn Stage 5 results and overall standings
Pro Men Stage 5 Results
1 Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) 3:59:49
2 Andreas Seewald (Singer KTM Racing) +0:43
3 Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling) +0:58
4 Peter Stetina (Canyon / Clif Family) +1:20
5 Matthew Beers (Specialized Off-Road Toyota) +1:22
Pro Men General Classification after Stage 5
1 Matthew Beers (Specialized Off-Road Toyota) 15:46:42
2 Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling) +0:33
3 Hugo Drechou (Numéro31.cc / Pinarello) +6:42
4 Lukas Baum (Orbea x Leatt Speed Company) +8:28
5 Tristan Nortje (Imbuko ChemChamp) +9:19
Pro Women Stage 5 Results
1 Axelle Dubau-Prevot (Numéro 31 par Café du Cycliste/ Pinarello) 5:01:32
2 Lauren Stephens (Aegis Cycling Foundation) +15
3 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance Soudal) +27
4 Hayley Preen (ChemChamp Honeycomb 226ers) +1:57
5 Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) +3:38
Pro Women General Classification after Stage 5
1 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance Soudal) 19:39:21
2 Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) +4:20
3 Hayley Preen (ChemChamp Honeycomb 226ers) +6:31
4 Lauren Stephens (Aegis Cycling Foundation) +7:01
5 Axelle Dubau-Prevot (Numéro 31 par Café du Cycliste/ Pinarello) +8:54
For a full list of all the results, click HERE to go to the Gravel Burn website.
Read the Gravel Burn Stage 1 report HERE.
Read the Gravel Burn Stage 2 report HERE.
Read the Gravel Burn Stage 3 report HERE.
Read the Gravel Burn Stage 4 report HERE.
Read all about the Gravel Burn HERE.
