Tom Pidcock won stage three of the Tour of the Alps on Wednesday, April 22nd, in Arco, Italy, less than a month after a heavy crash in Spain. The Pinarello-Q36. 5 rider finished ahead of Tommaso Dati and Egan Bernal after staying near the front and producing the decisive sprint in warm conditions. The result came after a difficult return to racing, with Pidcock saying the comeback has tested him mentally as much as physically.
Pidcock rebounds in Arco
Pidcock’s victory was built in the closing stretch, where he held his position at the head of the peloton and then powered to the line. He had already shown signs of sharpness earlier in the race, but this win carried extra weight because it came only about three weeks after his high-speed crash on a descent during March’s Volta a Catalunya.
In the aftermath of that crash, Pidcock said the injury and time away from racing made the return especially hard. “With my injury and the time off, it’s been difficult, ” Pidcock said after the stage. “Coming back is very hard mentally – even the first time I was dropped, it was tough to deal with. So this win feels really nice. ”
The 26-year-old also described the crash as “like one of these horror crashes you see, ” and said he was lucky he could still talk on the radio. The win adds to a season that had already shown strong form before the crash, including victory in Milano-Torino and a close second place at Milan-San Remo.
How the stage unfolded
The day’s finale turned on team work and timing. Pidcock’s team helped bring back the breakaway, and he then responded when Ben O’Connor tried to force a move late on. On the final corner, Pidcock stayed in front and did not give his rivals room to respond.
Tommaso Dati took second place, while Bernal completed the podium. Behind them, the race stayed active, with overall leader Giulio Pellizzari keeping the Melinda Green Jersey despite a cautious approach in the sprint. Lorenzo Finn was forced to abandon after an early crash, adding more drama to a stage already marked by tension and attrition.
What Pidcock said after the finish
Pidcock said the biggest challenge was getting back into racing rhythm after weeks interrupted by injury. “I basically didn’t train for two weeks, so it wasn’t ideal, ” he said when reflecting on the impact of the crash on his early-season form. He added that he believes he was in strong shape before the accident and that the stop-start nature of recovery made the transition back difficult.
He also said the timing of the stage win mattered. “In my last race before the crash I was in top form, but today I found myself suffering at the back of the bunch, even dropped on the first climb: I had to change my mindset, ” he said. “When I got back on, and felt the legs responding better on the second climb, I told the team we’d go for the stage: pulling it off felt amazing. ”
What comes next
The Tour of the Alps continues with an all-Trentino stage from Arco to Trento, and the route is expected to be the hardest day of the race. Pidcock is using the event as preparation for Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, before turning to the Tour de France later in the season. For now, the stage win is the clearest sign yet that tom pidcock is back in contention after a crash that could have derailed his spring.
