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RoadCyclingUK: You’ve had a sensational year so far, you must be feeling pretty good right now. Does one of your wins stand out in particular?

Tom Pidcock: I always feel good after any race that I win. In terms of the biggest prize and prestige, that was probably Roubaix – but the worlds is still a huge race to win.

Did you go into the year targeting a specific race?

With every race that I’ve won – the worlds, Roubaix, Durham and the national crit – I’ve always then looked ahead to the next one. After each race, I’ve had another one I wanted to do well in, so that’s kept me motivated throughout the year.

You’ve signed a two-year contract with Telenet-Fidea Lions, have you set yourself any goals with the team?

The World Championships will be the big one. I want to become under-23 world champion and elite world champion in the second year, but obviously that’s only been done once by Mathieu van der Poel so it’s ambitious, but that’s the aim.

“I want to become under-23 world champion and elite world champion in the second year with Telenet”

With [two-time world champion and six-time World Cup champion] Sven Nys as manager of Telenet-Fidea Lions, how big an influence was that in joining the team?

That’s one of the main reasons I joined Telenet. He’s the best ‘cross rider in the world and I’ll be able to learn from that. The fact that he’s put his confidence in me to ride for the team also puts a bit of pressure on him to make me into a good rider, so it really works both ways.

Leading on from that, who were your cycling inspirations? Who are the established pro riders you really look up to?

It changes year on year. For me, it’s about the stand-out rider at the top of the sport. At the moment that’s Peter Sagan but in the past it’s been the likes of Cav and Wiggins.

You mentioned Sagan there. You’ve been dubbed a mini-Sagan by some people, how does that make you feel, to be compared to a rider like that? And what do you think has led to that comparison?

It’s pretty cool, to be compared to the best rider in the world. I think it’s more to do with my personality. I don’t take it too seriously – I like to have fun above everything else and that’s something that’s come across in some of my race celebrations. I plan them a lot of the time and I just like doing something a bit different. It helps with my profile, too – and it’s good for Instagram.

How did you get into cycling in the first place?

My dad was a cyclist and represented Great Britain in Moscow so it was natural for me to get into cycling. He’s educated me as I’ve progressed and has supported me. I think my first club was Aire Valley Cycles.

Do you still go out with a club?

I go out on the Leeds chain gang. In either Rio or London [at the Olympic Games], I think it would have been in the top ten of the medal table at one point, something like that. You get the likes of the Brownlee brothers and Scott Thwaites. Lizzie Armitstead has been out on it a few times, though not that often.

That’s a strong group of Yorkshiremen and women! Is that something that means a lot to you, coming from Yorkshire and having that calibre of riders around you?

Yeah, definitely. Coming from Yorkshire, you’ve got that pride of coming from Yorkshire. Especially since the Tour de France and now with the Tour de Yorkshire. I think it’s only going to get stronger.

“Riding in Yorkshire is different to anywhere else in the world. When you get the good days and the sun is shining, it’s a very nice place to ride a bike”

Yorkshire will host the UCI Road World Championships in 2019, is that an event you can really look forward to now?

Yeah, I want to ride that race. That’s one of my targets, to ride that race in front of everyone at home. Riding in Yorkshire is different to anywhere else in the world. The climbs are short but steep and the roads are grippy. I think whatever course they come up with, it’s not going to be easy.

If there was one race you could win – either on the road or in cyclo-cross – what would it be?

It would probably be Paris-Roubaix. It’s such an iconic race. The racing style is unpredictable and exciting, the way you go about the race – it’s about man and machine. You can lose Roubaix by being unlucky but you don’t win it by being lucky. The strongest rider wins. It’s the biggest one-day race in cycling, apart from maybe the World Championships, arguably.