Tom Pidcock might only be 22, but the British cycling phenom has been awarded with an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours.

After an incredible 2021, Tom’s MBE is hardly a surprise. Although small in size, Tom’s riding has been massive in stature, proved by his mountain biking gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

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Switching between formats with great skill

Tom’s talent stretches from road to gravel and onto the mountain bike trail, too, confirming his riding status as a true multi-disciplinarian.

His mountain biking achievements have not come easily, either, despite prodigious talent. Tom rides for the powerful Indeos Grenadiers World Tour team, which means a punishing training schedule.

Being a member of Ineos Grenadiers also creates some complexity for Tom, regarding mountain biking choice. The team’s current frame supplier is Pinarello. And the Italian frame brand no longer produces a mountain bike.

Tom’s solution has been riding a blacked-out BMC frame in mountain bike races, which he did with great success in 2021.

Could we see more of Tom at XCO World Cups?

An overall win in the 2021 Nove Mesto UCI World Cup event and Olympic gold proved that Tom could rail off-camber corners, roll drops and boost humps, with the best of them.

A crucial aspect of Tom’s broad talent is his cyclo-cross background, which helps him keep in practice with the technique of sliding bikes into loose corners.

There appears no stopping the Ineos Grenadiers rider, as he has now won the two UCI cyclo-cross World Cup events in short succession. A mountain biker and all-round rider, truly worthy of his cycling MBE.