Tom Pidcock's knee injury may imperil Ardennes campaign

He's on the provisional startlist, but Pinarello-Q36.5's Tom Pidcock may be a scratch for at least some of the upcoming Ardennes Classics. The British rider had a strong start to the year with a win in Milano-Torino and second place to Tadej Pogačar at Milan-San Remo, but a hard crash in the Volta a Catalunya sent him out of the race after stage 5 with a knee injury. Pidcock crashed heavily into a ravine. Although he finished the stage, medical tests later showed likely bone and ligament damage to his right knee and right wrist, his team said, and he did not start stage 6. The knee injury still has yet to fully heal, his coach Kurt Bogaerts told Cyclingnews on Sunday. Bogaerts said the team doesn't know whether Pidcock will be ready for Brabantse Pijl on Friday or Sunday's Amstel Gold Race, where he would face off with Remco Evenepoel. "We have not set a return to competition yet," Bogaerts said in brief comments on the matter. If this week's races are out, there is still the possibility for Fleche Wallonne, a week from Wednesday, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège on the 26th. If he misses those, Pidcock may not race again until the Tour de France.