{"id":1852463,"date":"2026-03-28T04:58:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T01:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1852463"},"modified":"2026-03-28T04:58:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T01:58:52","slug":"ninja-pidcock-dashed-by-unexpected-catalunya-withdrawal-due-to-knee-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1852463","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Ninja\u2019 Pidcock Dashed by Unexpected Catalunya Withdrawal Due to Knee Damage"},"content":{"rendered":"
Tom Pidcock has experienced the highs and lows of pro cycling in the past ten days, with victory in Milano-Torino and a very close second place to Tadej Poga\u010dar in Milan-San Remo being followed now by a shock withdrawal from the Volta a Catalunya.<\/p>\n
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Pidcock went off the road and into a ravine on Friday\u2019s stage of the latter race, but was able to clamber back up, change bikes and finish the stage.<\/p>\n
He explained the circumstances afterwards and described himself as a ninja for emerging relatively unscathed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was drinking on the descent and misjudged a corner. I overshot it and went down the ravine. It was like one of these horror crashes you see, but I am okay,\u201d he said in a Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling press release.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll go for a check, but I think I\u2019m okay. I am lucky I could talk on the radio. I was far from the road and nobody knew I was there. I\u2019m happy I could finish the stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
His team gave every indication he would continue. \u201cInitial assessments are reassuring, with no immediate signs of serious injury,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n
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There was no sign of immediate concerns when Pidcock gave an update on social media. In a post on Friday evening, Pidcock acknowledged how dangerous the crash was but gave the impression that he had dodged a bullet.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I lost a life for sure,\u201d he wrote, showing a screenshot of the bend in question. \u201cWas drinking on the descent and completely misjudged my braking and went straight on here. Luckily I had my radio so they could find me as no one knew I\u2019d crashed. I\u2019m going to self-proclaim as a ninja crasher, 60kph off a mountain road and I\u2019m relatively okay \u201d<\/p>\n
Surprise withdrawal<\/h2>\nTom Pidcock pictured after finishing stage 5 of the Volta a Catalunya. He crashed into a ravine during the race. (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
However while that somewhat upbeat tone suggested he would continue in the race, an announcement on Saturday morning revealed things had changed.<\/p>\n
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\u201cDue to his crash he suffered injuries, most likely bone and ligament damage in particular to his right knee and also right wrist,\u201d stated Lorenz Emmert, the team\u2019s chief medical doctor. \u201cUnfortunately we had to make the decision to take him out of the race. Further clinical evaluation and imaging will follow in the next days additionally to the already initiated healing process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pidcock will remain under close observation in the days ahead.<\/p>\n
The Briton will be hugely disappointed, not least because of his exceptional form and what was a chance to compare himself against Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and others following his impressive display against Poga\u010dar in San Remo.<\/p>\n
He had appeared to be building perfectly towards the Tour de France but now has suffered this unwelcome setback.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did everything to try to make it to the start but it\u2019s not possible,\u201d he stated in the team communication.<\/p>\n
\u201cI fought to finish the stage yesterday to make sure I had the option to continue. Now the focus is on recovery, and I\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2268473263.jpg”] Shane Stokes Updated March 28, 2026 05:02AM Tom Pidcock has experienced the highs and lows of pro cycling in the past ten days, with victory in Milano-Torino and a very close second place to Tadej Poga\u010dar in Milan-San Remo being followed now by a shock withdrawal from the Volta a Catalunya. Pidcock […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1852463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1852463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852463\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1852463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1852463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1852463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2268657446.jpg?width=3840&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")