Pidcock just getting started as he beats van der Poel

Brit tells James Shrubsall he feels he has now earned his place at the front

- James Shrubsall

Tom Pidcock described his already glittering career as having only just started after his win at the weekend’s Telenet Superprestige Gavere, where he beat world champion Mathieu van der Poel into second place.

“It’s the point every kid dreams of,” the Yorkshire rider told Cycling Weekly on Monday. “Yesterday was actually the start of my career I think. Because everything else is building up to the point where you’re at the top of the sport.

“Junior, under-23, none of it really matters,” he added. “It only really matters what you do as an elite, so I think it’s the biggest thing.”

His win came a day after the Trofee Antwerpen Scheldecross, in which he was third behind winner van der Poel and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels-Sauzen-Bingoal).

The women’s Superprestige Gavere event was won by Lucinda Brand (Telenet Baloise Lions).

The weekend’s two races were the first C1-level events Pidcock has ridden this season and represented a significant leap forward from his 17th place at the Tabor World Cup last month. Poel traded blows throughout Sunday’s race until the last third when the Yorkshireman began to pull inexorably away from his Dutch nemesis.