Tom Pidcock's late-season ambitions were dashed by a crash and concussion diagnosis at the Tour of Britain.

Pidcock won his second consecutive gold medal in mountain biking at the Paris Olympics, but struggled in the road race a week later. He admitted that he was “a little frazzled mentally” because of the press coverage and speculation about his future with the Ineos Grenadiers.

He had been reportedly moved from the team over the summer and had a falling out with racing director Steve Cummings. Now it appears that Pidcock will stay with Ineos, but the transfer talk and problems within the team have become a distraction.

Pidcock was in the early breakaway on the final stage of the Tour of Britain, but then crashed hard. Many riders from the Tour of Britain were scheduled to head to Canada via Paris on Tuesday, but Pidcock missed two races and will stay home to recover from his concussion.

“Following his crash on stage 6 of the Tour of Britain, Tom Pidcock has confirmed that he suffered a concussion. He has returned home to recover and will remain under the supervision of our medical team while he follows the 'return to training' protocol for concussions,” Ineos said in a social media post.

“Unfortunately, this means he will not be able to compete in any future Canadian races. We wish Tom a speedy recovery and hope he can return to racing soon.”

The Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec will be held on Friday, September 13, and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sunday, September 15.

Many riders, including Tadej Pogachar, Michael Matthews, and Julien Alaphilippe, see these two World Tour races as important preparation races for the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland, on September 29.

Pidcock, along with Tour of Britain winner Stevie Williams, was expected to lead Great Britain in Zurich.

Pidcock won gold medals in the Amstel Gold Race and the Olympics in the 2024 season, but struggled in the Tour de France before winning COVID-19. With so much talent, it is difficult for Pidcock to choose between mountain biking, cobbled classics, and Grand Tour racing. He has indicated that he will focus on road racing this season.

“Like most seasons, there are positive and negative aspects. Winning is very difficult. Very few riders win the majority of races and I want to be one of them. Now I'm not and that has to change,” Pidcock told Het Laatste Nieuws at the Tour of Britain.

Pidcock was asked if he endured the lack of freedom at Ineos, to which he replied: “It is true that there are a lot of things I have to deal with in the team now. To be honest, they are not helping me to perform optimally.”

“At the moment, I have to think about a lot more than just performance-related things. And that's what really matters, which is that the focus on the race is not ideal.”

Asked if it was a matter of team structure, Pidcock replied: ”I think it's best not to say anything more.”

Asked if there was a possibility of changing teams, Pidcock replied: “I have a contract until the end of 2027. I can't say more than that.”