Speaking of a certain Mr Pidcock…
Hang that in the National Gallery https://t.co/guD640pWBq
— Gav 💚🌍 (@Gavinius) March 4, 2023
I don’t know about Tom, but I’m not sure I’ve even fully recovered from that desperate, heart-stopping last 20 kilometres into Siena on Saturday.
Me too, Tom, me too… (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
So, now that the dust has settled (excuse the pun), where do you reckon Pidcock’s 50km Strade spectacular ranks on the list of all-time great British rides in major one-day classics?
For pure sporting drama, it certainly came close to Cavendish’s last-gasp San Remo win in 2009, while the Yorkshireman’s epic solo escape on Saturday also harked back to Lizzie Deignan’s barnstorming 2021 ride over the Roubaix cobbles and Tom Simpson’s rainbow jersey-clad procession at the Tour of Lombardy in 1965.
Let us know what you think in the comments!
But you know what’s the scariest thing? Pidcock’s sensational win over the Tuscan gravel may prove just the beginning for the Ineos rider (who starts a week-long battle with his prospective classics rivals at Tirreno-Adriatico today) this spring…
I think it’s fair to say that Caleb Ewan hasn’t been the biggest fan of photo finishes this year.
Two weeks ago, the Australian sprinter found himself on the wrong end of an impossibly tight call at the UAE Tour, as cycling’s version of VAR eventually ruled in favour of Soudal Quick-Step’s Belgian champion Tim Merlier following what most observers regarded as a “dead heat”.
You tell us who won stage 1 of the #UAETour😁 pic.twitter.com/8pjiP9w63I
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) February 20, 2023
And then yesterday, Ewan – to his disbelief – saw lightning strike twice in as many weeks at the GP Jean-Pierre Monseré.
The Flemish one-day race – held in memory of the 1970 world road race champion and Tour of Lombardy winner (who was killed just months after his rainbow jersey win in Leicester when a motorist strayed onto a race course and hit him head-on) – came down once again to a bunch gallop, with Ewan’s Lotto Dstny team putting him in the perfect position in the final few hundred metres.
However, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty’s Gerben Thijssen, the winner of a Tour of Poland stage last year, managed to draw himself alongside Ewan right at the death, with both riders lunging at the line in another achingly close finish.
To add insult to eventual injury, the race organisers initially provided Ewan with at least some redemption for his UAE reverse by initially awarding him the win – only, after some closer inspection of the finish photo (which we’ll get to later), to later hand the victory to 24-year-old Thijssen.
“Of course, it’s never nice to lose on a photo finish,” Ewan said after the race. “This is disappointing but we keep on working to get that victory. I’ve been close a couple of times this season and I’m sure that the win is coming soon.”
While the 28-year-old was quite gracious in defeat at the finish in Roeselare, when he got back home last night, put his feet up on the sofa, and took a look at the images of the race, Ewan wasn’t quite so convinced that he lost this one:
I kinda think I won. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/Oaa2sK9obJ
— Caleb Ewan (@CalebEwan) March 5, 2023
Sharing two photos of the finish that appear to show the Lotto Dstny rider pipping his Belgian rival by the faintest of margins (though, to play Devil’s Advocate, the overhead shot would appear to rule – slightly – in Thissen’s favour), the Australian wrote on Twitter: “I kinda think I won. If anyone’s got photo of big G clearly beating me it would actually make me feel a bit better to be honest.”
Here’s another one. If anyone’s got photo of big G clearly beating me it would actually make me feel a bit better to be honest🙈 pic.twitter.com/Zko46pUQI6
— Caleb Ewan (@CalebEwan) March 5, 2023
To make matters worse, a photo of the finish line image used to decide the winner was also shared on Twitter. And let’s just say it’s a bit grainy…
I've seen proof of the Yeti with more pixels https://t.co/GhbvQ4cXKy
— Jens Dekker (@jens_dekker) March 5, 2023
Ufologists wouldn't be able to do anything with this picture
— Jens Dekker (@jens_dekker) March 5, 2023
The photo that the organisers used to decide the winner #GPMonsere#GPMonseréhttps://t.co/WKHVxxQ5UXpic.twitter.com/yYjARYQ400
— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) March 5, 2023
The way things are going, it might take a Nessie sighting for Ewan to break his spell of bad luck this season.
Maybe he needs to have a chat with Tom Pidcock about bouncing back from dodgy photo finish defeats…