Mathieu van der Poel’s crash at a UCI mountain bike World Cup race last month – which saw the Dutch star spectacularly faceplant the ground after misjudging a section of pump track, breaking his wrist in the process – may have (briefly) placed his upcoming appearance at the Tour de France in jeopardy.
But according to his multidisciplinary rival, Tom Pidcock, racing on the road remains a lot more dangerous than plunging through a forest at breakneck speed on knobbly tyres.
Speaking on Red Bull’s Just Ride podcast, the double Olympic mountain bike champion – famed for his daredevil descending and bike handling skills on a range of different bikes – argued that the chaotic nature of riding in a large peloton, compared to the relative control of off-road, makes his day job a more consistently dangerous prospect.
Tom Pidcock, 2024 Olympic mountain bike cross-country (Zac Williams/SWpix.com) (credit: road.cc)
When asked whether he’d once again target the cross-country MTB event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, in an attempt to win his third consecutive gold in the discipline, Pidcock told the podcast: “I’ve got more chance in mountain biking than I do on the road! On the road, there are 20 guys who are able to win, but in mountain biking, by the Olympics, there are around three there.
“And mountain biking falls more consistently into place than on the road. I feel like more can go wrong in a road race, even if you think about it, mountain bike mechanicals are more likely.
“Crashing is not more likely, I don’t agree with that,” he continued. “In mountain biking, you’re more in control of yourself. Whereas on the road, you’ve got 150 blokes you’re relying on not to make you crash.
“I would say road racing is more dangerous than mountain biking.”
“Of course it is, you’re going downhill at 80mph with no protection,” interjected the podcast’s co-host, former professional downhill mountain biker Rob Warner.
“Nothing!” laughed Pidcock. “I guess it’s more finite, the tyres are smaller, the grip is smaller.
“I remember one time in Mallorca, with some friends, we were going down Lluc, down towards Pollenca. And I swear, every corner, we were Moto GP-style sliding. That was probably the most on the limit I’ve been on a descent!”
Which, considering his spectacular, rocket-fuelled descent of the Col du Galibier at the 2022 Tour de France, on his way to winning atop Alpe d’Huez, that’s saying something.
2022 TdF Tom Pidcock ineos descending stage 12 CORVOS SWpix (credit: road.cc)
Meanwhile, on Instagram, Pidcock’s assertion that road racing is more dangerous than his MTB side hustle has been met with almost unanimous agreement, with many fans commenting that the Q36.5 leader was essentially stating the obvious.
“Agreed. My crashes on my MTB are just cuts and bruises while still being able to ride. Whereas on the road bike crashes leave me hospitalised for weeks and off the bike for months,” wrote Casimir.
“I’ve crashed hard with my downhill bike, that does hurt – hitting trees, getting concussion,” added Steven. “But now I ride more road and riding downhill scares me. Things can go wrong so fast and then there’s traffic as well.”
> How Fast!? We take a look at Tom Pidcock’s Alpe d’Huez conquering Strava file
“Wout, Remco, Jonas… just to name a few recent ones,” said Adam. “Road cycling’s biggest stars regularly get the kind of gruesome injuries requiring lengthy hospital stays, which will impact them the rest of their lives. It’s almost guaranteed to happen to them.”
Others, meanwhile, focused on the protection afforded to mountain bikers compared to their roadie counterparts.
“Correct, naked on the tarmac is not safe at all,” said another Instagram user, while Matt added: “Makes me shiver thinking about road bikers falling off basically naked.”
“MTB bikes are also more forgiving,” argued Mo. “They allow you more mistakes and control; geometry, wheels, brakes. Road bikes are just pure speed.”
And finally, Greg asked: “Would’ve thought this would be common sense?”
> Tom Pidcock flies over barriers in “stupid crash” while leading cyclocross race
However, not everyone was in agreement with Pidcock. Mountain biker Brody dismissed the peloton’s habitual road rash from crashes as mere “scratches”, while Juan Miguel claimed that the British star was simply referencing cross-country mountain biking, arguing that “a downhill or enduro crash will be worse” than one on the road.
Of course, his appearance on Red Bull’s Just Ride podcast isn’t the first time that Pidcock has publicly discussed the inherent dangers of riding on the road.
Tom Pidcock, 2025 Giro d’Italia (credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Back in 2022, he told the BBC that it is now too dangerous for professional cyclists to train on time trial bikes on public roads because of the riding position involved, in the wake of then-teammate Egan Bernal’s horrific training crash into a back of a bus in Colombia.
“Positions are getting more and more extreme and we spend more time trying to hold these positions,” the Yorkshire-born rider said. “You don’t necessarily see where you’re going.”
He suggested that ways could be found to adapt training to remove the risks encountered when riding on roads shared with motor traffic.
“It’s evident now where it’s getting quite dangerous,” he continued. “I don’t think we need to stop progressing, but think about how we can train in a safer way and try and mitigate these crashes.”
Tom Pidcock, Colle delle Finestre, 2025 Giro d’Italia (credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
In any case, setting aside the comparative dangers of cycling’s different disciplines, Pidcock was also asked during this week’s podcast appearance about his current focus on the road after joining Q36.5 Pro Cycling from Ineos last winter, and whether he had set aside cyclocross and mountain biking for the foreseeable future.
“No, it’s not been set aside,” the 25-year-old former cyclocross world champion said. “I’ve joined this team and we’re building it together. I need to race on the road and we need to get into the biggest races.
“So it’s not like I’m sacrificing the other [disciplines] for it, it’s just what I’m focusing on.”
Pidcock was also asked about his recent performance at the Giro d’Italia, his first grand tour in a sole leadership role for Q36.5.
After a superb start to life in the Swiss second-tier team’s colours following his much-discussed transfer from the Ineos Grenadiers, Pidcock entered the Giro with lofty ambitions, including finishing in the top 10 on GC in Rome.
However, things never quite clicked for the double Olympic mountain bike champion on the roads of Italy, however, as he failed to convert three top five placings into a stage win, while troubles on the race’s decisive climbs in the Alps saw him drop to 16th on GC, almost 45 minutes down on winner Simon Yates.
Nevertheless, Pidcock insisted that the Giro remained a valuable learning experience for both himself and the team, especially when it comes to focusing on a GC target for three weeks.
Tom Pidcock, 2025 Giro d’Italia (credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
“It was probably my best level ever,” he told the podcast. “But we had some bad luck, I didn’t get a stage win. And GC was always going to optimistic, with other focuses at the start of the year, one-day races, not as many altitude camps. But in general, I was really happy with it, for sure.
“I made it to stage 19 before I had a bad day – I didn’t have a bad day, I tried to get in the breakaway, but it was the first really hot day, 32 degrees, then I blew up. But I made it that long, focusing full time. And I was really proud of myself for concentrating so long.”