Tom Pidcock showed his bike handling skills on the final day of the Volta ao Algarve with another brilliant ride, but otherwise found the time trial bikes difficult to handle, slipping from the overall lead and finishing the week in 6th place.

Pidcock's chances of a podium finish or even the yellow jersey remained a mystery due to his lack of time trial experience.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider was a world champion as a junior, but has somewhat neglected the time trial bike as he juggles many different disciplines. On the undulating 24.4 km course around Lagoa, he finished 19th, 1:27 behind stage winner Stefan Küng and 1:11 behind overall winner and teammate Dani Martinez.

"It was pretty tricky, I didn't give it my all in the TT position.

"It was a very tricky race," Pidcock told reporters after the finish in Lagoa.

"My heart rate was about 20 beats lower than yesterday on the last climb.

His heart rate may have spiked when he went too fast on one corner, veered off the road, went up a dirt bank, and then went around and down it as if he were riding a BMX track.

"I'm glad I stayed upright," Pidcock joked after the race.

Pidcock also joked that he still didn't know "how many minutes (or hours) I lost," and his humor was indicative of a rider who was not too disappointed to have lost the overall standings on the final day.

He described the GC as "an afterthought" earlier in the week, noting that running a time trial bike in anger was an "important step" in his long-term development as a Grand Tour contender.

"It was a good experience," he reaffirmed in Lagoa. I think the process needed to happen today."

This was an opinion echoed by his coach, Kurt Bogaerts.

"We haven't done any TT-focused practice with Tom yet. Today was a starting point and a platform to work on that," the Belgian told Cycling News.

"The TT is a discipline we need to focus on. There have been many disciplines in the past, but not this one. You have to get used to the bike. On road bikes, cyclo-cross bikes, and mountain bikes, he is powering through.

"We came here to do the TT. World champion Tobias Foss, Filippo Ganna, Stefan Kühn, they are all specialists. Tom can get a lot of motivation from here."