Great point about younger riders not dominating every race, every year. As I think you pointed out in your podcast, it's just that the best riders start winning when they are young, because they're the best, and they keep on winning, because they're the best.
What about the young guy on Kerna, Pablo Castrillo? He is going to Movistar and you said he should be great next year. Don't you think he deserves to be on the young guy's list?
I wonder if he could be a Wout Van Aert type rider. Be the leader in the classics. Combine helping a leader with stage wins in the Tour. Go to the Giro or Vuelta with total freedom to just win at every chance. Pick a one-week stage race, here and there, to chase GC. Right now, Pidcock hasn't developed such a focus because is missing a Tour GC rider on Ineos who he knows will beat him in GC and the management that allows/guides WVA to pursue such a variety of options across the road calendar. Can't be forgotten that Pidcock finds a way to win big races across the calendar.
I think a best-case Tom could be a Julian Alaphilippe type. Target one-days with the ability to hunt stages whenever and wherever he can. His big issue right now is that he is still seen as a GC contender, so it is difficult for him to get into breakaways.
Also, with the move to Q36.5, we may not see him at many Grand Tours in the coming years. With only four PT slots, and two of those going to the two best PT teams from the year prior, there isn't a lot of room for his team in the Giro, Tour or Vuelta.
I also hope Tom finds his groove so that he experiences more joy during his career and less headaches. WVA is something else though. How many monuments and GT stages could he have won if he wasn't sacrificing so much for the team leaders?
Great point about younger riders not dominating every race, every year. As I think you pointed out in your podcast, it's just that the best riders start winning when they are young, because they're the best, and they keep on winning, because they're the best.
What about the young guy on Kerna, Pablo Castrillo? He is going to Movistar and you said he should be great next year. Don't you think he deserves to be on the young guy's list?
At his current rate of improvement, Castrillo will win every stage of the Tour along with the GC in 2026.
It’s a shame Tom Pidcock is not in here. I hope it all breaks his way in 2025.
I wonder if he could be a Wout Van Aert type rider. Be the leader in the classics. Combine helping a leader with stage wins in the Tour. Go to the Giro or Vuelta with total freedom to just win at every chance. Pick a one-week stage race, here and there, to chase GC. Right now, Pidcock hasn't developed such a focus because is missing a Tour GC rider on Ineos who he knows will beat him in GC and the management that allows/guides WVA to pursue such a variety of options across the road calendar. Can't be forgotten that Pidcock finds a way to win big races across the calendar.
I think a best-case Tom could be a Julian Alaphilippe type. Target one-days with the ability to hunt stages whenever and wherever he can. His big issue right now is that he is still seen as a GC contender, so it is difficult for him to get into breakaways.
Also, with the move to Q36.5, we may not see him at many Grand Tours in the coming years. With only four PT slots, and two of those going to the two best PT teams from the year prior, there isn't a lot of room for his team in the Giro, Tour or Vuelta.
I also hope Tom finds his groove so that he experiences more joy during his career and less headaches. WVA is something else though. How many monuments and GT stages could he have won if he wasn't sacrificing so much for the team leaders?