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  "description": "Tom Pidcock was touted as one of the top favourites for this year's Amstel Gold Race, but the 2024 winner (and two-time podium finisher) has opted to swap the first two Ardennes Classics for a debut appearance at the five-stage Tour of the Alps.\n\nThe Pinarello-Q36.5 leader is returning to competition three weeks after a crash forced him to withdraw from the Volta a Catalunya, where he had been sitting second overall before plummeting down the standings on the incident-marred stage 5. At the Tour",
  "path": "/pidcock-swaps-amstel-gold-and-fleche-wallonne-for-tour-of-the-alps/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-18T11:47:21.000Z",
  "site": "https://escapecollective.com",
  "textContent": "Tom Pidcock was touted as one of the top favourites for this year's Amstel Gold Race, but the 2024 winner (and two-time podium finisher) has opted to swap the first two Ardennes Classics for a debut appearance at the five-stage Tour of the Alps.\n\nThe Pinarello-Q36.5 leader is returning to competition three weeks after a crash forced him to withdraw from the Volta a Catalunya, where he had been sitting second overall before plummeting down the standings on the incident-marred stage 5. At the Tour of the Alps, typically considered a Giro d'Italia warm-up race, Pidcock will meet a strong field of Giro contenders including reigning Tour of the Alps champ Michael Storer (Tudor), Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe), Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), Ben O'Connor (Jayco-AlUla) and Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek), while Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) is also making his long-awaited return from injury.\n\nPidcock will return to the Ardennes for the fourth Monument of the season at Liège-Bastogne-Liège where he will take on Milan-San Remo nemesis Tadej Pogačar for the third time this season.",
  "title": "Pidcock swaps Amstel Gold and Flèche Wallonne for Tour of the Alps",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-18T11:47:22.439Z"
}