Anonymous pro cyclist claims Tom Pidcock "a bit of a loner" at Ineos Grenadiers and caused friction in "bizarre" transfer saga (also claims double Olympic champ's buyout would cost new team €12 million) + more on the live blog

It's probably not surprising to hear the saga surrounding Tom Pidcock's likely premature departure from the Ineos Grenadiers this winter "is also raising eyebrows in the peloton". That's the account of a 'secret cyclist' in the Belgian press who has a regular column with Sporza where they divulge all the gossip and secrets (well, some of them) from the peloton.

According to the 'spy in the peloton', presumably known as 007-speed or something equally bad, the riders on other teams have had their heads turned by the "bizarre" Pidcock saga too.

"Pidcock is a bit of a loner within Ineos," the anonymous pro claimed. 

And while we'd argue there's probably a bit of a difference between a maverick doing their own thing, perhaps hard to pin down away from races and with some differing training opinions, to a super-talented multi-discipline specialist ditching the road to rack up world-class wins in mountain biking and cyclo-cross every so often, it appears this has all caused friction with Ineos management, the spy claims.

"With his own doctor and his own staff. He wants to do his own thing a bit," the secret pro continued. "For example, the team didn't want Pidcock to go mountain biking in Canada at the end of last season. But he crossed the pond anyway. Since then, the water between the two parties has become deeper and deeper."

But where will he go? The mystery rider claims whichever team wants Pidcock will have to stump up €12 million to get him out of his Ineos contract that still has three more years to run.

"Which team can put 12 million euros on the table?" the spy asked. "Because that is Pidcock's buyout fee. Unless there is a back door in the contract. Q36.5 and Visma-Lease a Bike in particular would be interested in prying him away from Ineos. Pidcock at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe seems less likely."

It's been a wild seven days in the autumn's biggest transfer saga, Pidcock "deselected" by Ineos management from Il Lombardia the night before. The 25-year-old wrote on Instagram: "Just as things were on the up after a turbulent end to the year I am deselected for Lombardia tomorrow. I am in great shape and was really looking forwarded to it! Good luck to the boys, I guess off season starts early. Thanks for everyone’s support even in the tough times".

Sports director Zak Dempster confirmed the decision had come from the top, not him, and was not performance based, admitting it "does look strange".

Then, on Monday, Geraint Thomas addressed "the elephant in the room", calling it a "really crap situation" and saying it's "just messed up".

"I don't actually know what has gone on, but all I know is, when you're the highest-paid rider in your team, and it's obviously a really crap situation. He's not happy, the team's not happy. How has it got to this point? I don't know," Thomas said.

"People who are around Tom, I don't think help. I don't know how… The fact is that he had a great chance of performing today [at Il Lombardia]. I saw that Zak had said it's a management call, it's not a performance call. I certainly don't know anything about that. We're just riders, eh? What do we know about management?

"It's just not good, is it? All the bull**** aside, he's a great talent. He's a good guy, when I'm around him we have a nice time, so it's not good to see that situation. We'll see what happens..."

> Valtteri Bottas says "refreshing" cycling "more fair" than Formula One as you don't need best bike to win

Sometimes it is, Valtteri, just sometimes...

> "The streets belong to the people": Cyclists riding on closed roads before New York City Marathon will be removed from course, organisers say – as locals slam "embarrassing" bike ban

Cyril from Stratford-upon Avon Swan Rescue using his Pashley Parabike Fleet to rescue another swan from peril.#stratforduponavon #Swans pic.twitter.com/ra1UlGvT3v

— Traditional Cycle Shop (@Trad_Cycle_Shop) October 17, 2024

All credit to Jo for that inspired caption contest while I was faffing around trying to shoehorn Lake in there somewhere... get it? Swan Lake? The cycling shoe brand and the ballet? Right... you got it the first time... Swan (disc) brake? Sure, I'll stop...

Not something you read every day...

"Earlier today 13-year-old Grace unfortunately slipped off her bike trapping her ankle between pedal and bike frame," someone from Rewley Road Fire Station explained.

"After trying to free Grace's ankle themselves, her parents called 999 where Red Watch from Rewley Road fire station attended the incident near the underpass in Raleigh Park Hinksey and used specialist cutting equipment to release the entrapment.

"Well done to Grace for putting on a brave face whilst firefighters cut her free!"

Great Britain's women's team sprint doubled up the Olympic gold they won this summer with gold at the UCI Tissot Track World Championships last night, becoming the first British women's team sprint line-up to pull off the historic double in the same year.

Sophie Capewell, Emma Finucane and Katy Marchant qualified fastest and made it through to the gold medal ride where they beat the Dutch to add a trio of rainbow jerseys to their impressive 2024.

Marchant said: "Today was a tough day on the bike and perhaps a little bit harder than winning an Olympic gold medal for different reasons but I'm really glad we showed up today. We're absolutely over the moon." 

Capewell added: "It's the kind of thing that as kids growing up in sport, they're the two big things to aim for... the reality is very much a dream come true. It feels like the icing on the cake and the cake was pretty damn good in the summer so that's topped it off quite nicely!"

The men's team sprint line-up of Joe Truman, Harry Ledingham-Horn, Hayden Norris and Marcus Hiley qualified fourth fastest but were pipped to bronze by Japan.