{"id":323280,"date":"2025-08-06T19:24:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T19:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/323280\/"},"modified":"2025-08-06T19:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T19:24:11","slug":"thats-the-only-way-to-slow-the-races-down-tom-pidcock-comes-up-with-revolutionary-idea-to-make-cycling-safer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/323280\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThat\u2019s the only way to slow the races down\u2026\u201d \u2013 Tom Pidcock comes up with revolutionary idea to make cycling safer"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\u201cRestricting gears will only make things more dangerous,\u201d he said, flatly. \u201cIf we\u2019re all riding at the same maximum speed, we\u2019ll be more tightly packed \u2013 and on descents, that just means we\u2019ll take up more of the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sentiment shared by many riders but often left unsaid in public. Tighter bunches on faster descents? Pidcock, who combines World Tour firepower with mountain bike handling and CX instincts, is perhaps better qualified than most to call that out for what it is: counterintuitive and risky.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t stop there. With a dry edge to his delivery, he took a sideways swipe at the broader conversation around equipment regulations and marginal tweaks. \u201cI was saying to my brother \u2013 if we carry on like this, maybe we should all have a carb limit and be forced into ketosis. That\u2019s the only way to slow the races down. We\u2019re cyclists\u2026 people should focus on more important things.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a classic Pidcockism \u2013 part-joke, part-critique \u2013 but it also reflects a growing frustration in the peloton with how governing bodies and race organisers are addressing safety concerns. While handlebar widths, gear ratios and helmet styles grab headlines, more systemic issues around course design, road furniture, and stage planning often go unchallenged. \u201cThe debate about handlebar width also feels like a smokescreen,\u201d he added. \u201cWe need to be talking about the issues that really matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether anyone at the UCI<\/a> is listening is another matter. But among fans and riders, there\u2019s growing respect for Pidcock\u2019s willingness to speak out \u2013 especially at a time when the sport is grappling with a culture of ever-faster racing, increasingly narrow margins, and escalating crash risks.\"tompidcock<\/p>\n

Pidcock is never shy of airing his opinions<\/p>\n

Back to business<\/p>\n

For now, though, his focus shifts back to racing. The Arctic Race may not be a World Tour headline act, but for riders targeting La Vuelta \u2013 and teams like Q36.5 still carving out space in the pro scene \u2013 it\u2019s a crucial stepping stone. \u201cStage three will be decisive,\u201d Pidcock predicted. \u201cBut it\u2019s going to be hard to control the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

His new team, a project still taking shape in its second season, has clearly earned his trust. \u201cThe team is really developing \u2013 both in terms of support and the level of the riders,\u201d he adds in conclusion, pointing to a growing cohesion behind the scenes at the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The coming weeks will show just how far that progress extends. If Pidcock hits top form in Norway and carries it into Spain, he\u2019ll be more than a voice of reason in the safety debate \u2013 he could be a potential player in the Vuelta GC fight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cRestricting gears will only make things more dangerous,\u201d he said, flatly. \u201cIf we\u2019re all riding at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-323280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114983460305578949","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}