Tom Pidcock returns to the field this weekend to kick off his 2022-2023 cyclocross campaign, but it may be short-lived as the world champion doubts whether he will defend the rainbow jersey in February.

Pidcock, who swept the 2022 World Championships in the U.S. at the beginning of the year, will compete in the Superprestige on Saturday, November 19 in Merkusplas, followed by the World Cup round in Overijse on Sunday.

After missing the World Championships in September due to mental fatigue and ending his road season early, the 23-year-old will return to cross earlier than rivals Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Pol.

But while the pair, who have seven world titles between them, have announced that they will compete in the 2023 World Championships in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands, on February 5, Pidcock is less enthusiastic.

"I can't answer that yet," Pidcock said in a weekend long interview with the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad (opens in new tab).

"This World Championships is very slow. If you have to peak at this championships and then prepare for the classics, then ......"

Pidcock made last year's World Championships a major goal, traveling to the US while Van Aert and Van Der Pol stayed in Europe. Pidcock won the elite rainbow jersey for the first time in his career, but the Classic season was plagued by poor health.

He had his moments of brilliance and contributed greatly to the spring success of his team, Ineos Grenadiers, but the impression remained that he was never close to his best level. As such, he seems determined to make sure that happens this time around.

"The road season is very important to me. I feel the same way this year," he said.

"In 2023 I want to perform consistently, especially in the spring monuments. If we succeed, the results will follow. If we put everything forward, we will have more options."

"Last year I played an important role in the team's victory. Last year I played an important role in the team's victory. Compared to Jumbo Visma and Quick Step, we are a younger team and less experienced, but we can race. Let the strong teams battle it out and we will attack them."

Pidcock returns to cyclocross this weekend for his rainbow jersey debut, but has limited expectations in terms of results. He will be up against the likes of Eli Iserbyt and Lauren Sweeck, who have been on the circuit for several weeks, and will face Van der Poel the following weekend and Van Aert the weekend after that.

Pidcock, who had a recurrence of a long-standing knee problem in October, will gradually pick up the pace, with the start of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Road Classic on February 25 still far away.

"The road season ended early. There was already enough free time. That rainbow jersey is also an incentive to start. I want to honor that jersey as much as possible."

"I don't expect to win my first race. Looking back over the past two winters, my first races were never my best. The first race is about getting into a rhythm. Two years ago I had to wait until the fourth race and last winter I had to wait until the third race. Hopefully we will see the real Tom Pidcock in the second or third race of the weekend."