Tom Pidock suffered a concussion at the Tour of Britain and will miss the Quebec and Montreal GPs, while his coach, Kurt Bogaerts, is in Canada, where Pidock, who publicly criticized the performance aspects of the race in his home country, is having major problems with the team He dismissed the idea.

Pidock told the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws that Ineos Grenadiers is currently “not helping me to perform optimally.”

Bogarts downplayed this as more than frustration spilling over from personal underperformance, without suggesting that there are larger problems afoot for Pidcock.

“I didn't really think too much about it. It was the Tour of Britain, I had a home crowd, I was the Olympic champion, and I wanted to do well.

“I think if you look at our results the last couple of years, you can't complain. For me, I don't see any problem here.”

Pidcock also said that he was “mentally frazzled” at the Olympics because of rumors and doubts about his future with the Ineos Grenadiers, even though he is under contract through 2027, but Bogarts said that the Englishman will remain an Ineos rider in 2025 He seemed confident that the

“He's under contract through 2027, but there's been a lot of talk about that, with Tom wearing a different brand of helmet.

“To me, it is clear that he is under contract until 2027, and so is ProCyclingStats. This is Pidcock's own words, speaking to HLN at the Tour of Britain: “I have a contract until the end of 2027. I can't say any more."

2024 was another generally successful season for Pidcock, as he achieved his major goal of winning gold in the Olympic mountain bike race at Elancourt Hill and won the Amstel Gold Race.

However, an infection from COVID-19 prevented him from competing in his third Tour de France, and his early season progress on the GC front did not allow him to realize his ambitions in the important stage races.

This latest bout of concussion forced him to miss two one-day races in Canada, a perfect warm-up for the World Championships. When he is fit, he will lead Great Britain along with Stevie Williams and others.

“We are following the UCI protocols and I think he is getting better every day.

“Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quick Step) crashed in front of him and he and Ethan (Hayter) were right behind. He was having some minor symptoms and I didn't want to risk it.”

However, Bogarts is confident that the young Briton will be ready for the Zurich race and his debut at Il Lombardia in October, and also admits that while the Tour of Britain was a failure for him, his physical condition is close to what is needed to contend for victory.

“Crashing is not ideal, but the bigger vision is to really be in the game, from the Road World Championships to Lombardia.

“There are plenty of races that suit him, but crashing is not an ideal scenario. For Tom, it's about recovering from this injury, doing the right thing, and getting into the habit of riding and resting.”