Who is Tom Pidcock? Multi-discipline cyclist to represent Great Britain in 2023 Cycling World Championships

From road cycling to mountain biking, Tom Pidcock is a multi-discipline whirlwind who will soon take part in the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland.

The 23-year-old cyclist may have just competed in the Tour de France, but ahead of the Glasgow Cycling World Championships he is setting himself up for an even bigger challenge.

Included in both the road and mountain bike cross-country Great Britain squads, Tom Pidcock MBE will face an uphill battle – both literally and figuratively.

Tom Pidcock, Ineos Grenadiers, wins the 2023 Strade Bianche Image: Zac Williams/SWPix.com

On Sunday August 6, he is on the longlist to compete in the Men’s Elite Road Race travelling 271.1km from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Just a few days later, Pidcock will defend his Olympic mountain bike championship title in Glentress Forest.

With such a varied career – especially with the 2023 Cycling World Championships falling less than a month after the Tour de France – we have everything you need to know about Tom Pidcock.

Who is Tom Pidcock?

Born in Leeds on July 30 1999, Tom Pidcock began cycling at just three-years-old.

He learned to ride on paths surrounding the Herne Hill Velodrome in London, where his mum would tie his feet to the pedals. Those early lessons sparked a passion for the bike within Pidcock and by age seven he was racing.

At just ten-years-old, Pidcock had decided that he would become a "professional bike rider". He took it seriously, waking up early to complete circuits on the playing fields on his way to school.

After convincing his parents, Sonja Harper and Giles Pidcock, to let him race, he would often be the smallest boy on the start lines but that didn’t stop him from reaching the podium in mountain biking and road racing.

His teenage years saw his parents taking him around the country to compete in national level races, and at age 14 he had his first victory in the British National Youth Road Series in Scarborough, which he went on to win four more times.

His aspirations began to come true as he progressed physically and mentally, fully committing to the lifestyle of a professional - something which has inspired his younger brother, Joe, to follow in his footsteps.

Tom Pidcock's achievements

Pidcock has managed to pack more successes into his career than some athletes achieve in a lifetime, with medals in time trialling, road racing, cyclo-cross, mountain biking and more.

In the Queen’s 2022 New Year Honours, Pidcock was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to cycling, alongside 12 other members of the GB Cycling Team for their performances at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It was then that Pidcock earned Britain’s first ever gold medal in mountain biking.

At the time, his mum said: “From when he was four you could tell he was so skillful on the bike. He had a cheap bike but it felt like it belonged to him. We knew he would be an amazing cyclist but even this is beyond our wildest dreams.”

From left: Tom Pidcock's girlfriend Beth Zajac, parents Sonja Harper and Giles Pidcock, and nan Christine Pidcock celebrating his Tokyo Olympics win. Image: Sonja Harper/SWNS

Pidcock’s other accomplishments are plentiful.

He took home the top prize in the 2022 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, and during the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in May he took home the gold in both the Cross-country and the Cross-country short track.

This year Tom Pidcock also won the Strade Bianche, a one-day classic held in Tuscany, and he is currently competing in the 2023 Tour de France. He has spent the majority of his time in the competition within the top ranked competitors, however after Stage 14 he has now dropped from the top 10.

Tom Pidcock of INEOS Grenadiers at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao for the team presentation ahead of the 2023 Tour de France. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Pidcock, who last year won atop Alpe d'Huez, recently told Eurosport that he is “not good enough” to win the general classification, instead hunting for stage wins.

Despite this, it will be interesting to see how the champion will perform during the Cycling World Championships in August – in which he will switch to a mountain bike for events including the individual cross-country, short track and mixed team relay.

Tom Pidcock World Rank

For road racing, Tom Pidcock is currently ranked world number 17. In the mountain bike rankings, Pidcock is 68th.

What team is Tom Pidcock on?

Tom Pidcock is currently a member of the Ineos Grenadiers, whom he joined in 2021. The team, formerly known as Team Sky, has nurtured talent including Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome.

His previous teams include the Telenet–Fidea Lions and Team Wiggins Le Col.