Tom Pidcock ‘on the road to finishing on the podium’ at La Vuelta after ‘hugely impressive’ Stage 13 fightback up Alto de L'Angliru

Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) gave his hopes of finishing on the podium a huge boost thanks to a superb late effort up the Alto de L'Angliru on Stage 13. The Briton was dropped early on the steep climb but recovered time in the latter stages to minimise his losses and retain third place in the general classification. Watch and stream the rest of La Vuelta live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

‘Have to be realistic’ – Pidcock gives thoughts after climbing ‘unforgiving’ Angliru

Video credit: TNT Sports

Adam Blythe believes Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) proved he has what it takes to finish on the podium at a Grand Tour for the first time after a stirring late effort up the Alto de L'Angliru helped him hang on to third place at La Vuelta.

Pidcock dropped back from the leaders at the start of the famous climb on Stage 13, but rather than fade completely, he dug deep to finish just a minute and 16 seconds behind winner Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

Perhaps most importantly, though, he retained third in the general classification ahead of Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull), who are hot on his heels.

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For a rider who has never finished in the top 10 of a Grand Tour, it was another sign that Pidcock is ready to mix it with the world’s best.

"With Tom, I think it's all about consistency through this race, and for me, he's been consistent," Blythe said on The Breakaway. "I did expect him to be further up than what he was today, but if that's a bad day for Tom, which is still a very, very good day for him.

"So I think where he's at now, he can take massive confidence in this race going forward, because that climb is such an unusual one. There's nothing like it. There's nothing like it for the rest of this race and the performance he's done beforehand. Let's not forget he's dropped Jonas [Vingegaard, Visma-Lease a Bike], he's been right up there.

"For me, he's just on the road to finishing on the podium in Madrid. What he's done today, yeah, brilliant ride, but that climb, it's like nothing else on this planet.

"So a hugely impressive ride from Tom to race how he did and pull back a little bit of time to the top."

Highlights: Stunning performance by Almeida secures Stage 13 win over Vingegaard

Video credit: TNT Sports

Pidcock was similarly philosophical about his performance. The Briton admitted he "would have liked to have been at the front" but that he was also pleased with how he was able to minimise his losses.

Asked by TNT Sports how he felt at the end of a gruelling day, Pidcock said: "It’s a hard climb, isn’t it? Super tough. Just finding the rhythm there, it's just unforgiving. At the start, I was okay, but I knew I couldn't continue that pace all the way to the top.

"I think everyone slowed down. I think I only lost a minute and 20 seconds or something. I just tried to do my own pace, but then you can't really, it's like fighting the whole way up, then you don’t really get in a rhythm.

"I didn't lose too much time. I would have liked to have been at the front, but also I’ve got to be realistic. I think I did a pretty good climb."

Stephens: It was a ride full of belief

TNT Sports expert Matt Stephens heaped praise on the maturity Pidcock displayed on what is arguably the toughest climb in cycling.

He now trails leader Vingegaard by 2’18’’ in the general classification (GC) and second-place Almeida by 1’32’’, but thanks to his strong finish, he still leads Hindley behind him by 42 seconds, with Gall a further 15 seconds back.

"To see the way that Tom rode was actually powerful. It was emotional, but he rode it smart as well," Stephens said.

"[Matthew] Riccitello went away. We saw Gall ride away. But then I don't know what was going on in his ear, but he's clearly measuring his effort. And just near the top, he had this minute-and-a-half acceleration to pull back time. And the last part, the steepest part of that climb, he actually took a little bit of time back on the leaders.

‘Disappointed’ Vingegaard says ‘sorry’ to his team-mates after gruelling Stage 13

Video credit: TNT Sports

"So got dropped early on but just rode his own race. And we've talked about it before, this climb takes no prisoners. You cannot afford to ride at a pace that you cannot sustain, and if you do, you're flying way too close to the sun.

"It's a strong ride. It was a ride full of belief, and it was an intelligent ride as well by Pidcock. Absolutely fantastic."

Watch and stream the remainder of the cycling season, including La Vuelta, live on TNT Sports and discovery+

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Thoughts?