Yesterday’s 2023 UCI XCC Short Track World Championships proved to be as controversial as it was exciting. While French rider, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, stormed to victory aboard the all-new Pinarello Dogma XC HT, her INEOS Grenadiers team mate, Tom Pidcock, rode the same to a Bronze medal. No mention of Tom and yesterday’s Short Track is complete without mention of the event that took place in the final turn…
The British rider made unintended contact with Germany’s Luca Schwarzbauer as he slipped through a small gap left open by Schwarzbauer on the inside of the final turn. As a result, Luca lost rear wheel traction, forcing a low side crash. He conceded the position to Tom, who went on to secure 3rd place. New Zealand’s Sam Gaze took the Gold medal, with Frenchman Victor Koretzky taking Silver.
Back to the bikes…
Indeed, yesterday was the first time the new Pinarello Dogma XC HT has graced the race track. This particular race track is nowhere near as rough as some we’ve seen on the World Cup circuit this season, and so it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see a number of riders opting to use a hardtail.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at Tom’s Dogma XC HT, and how it has been set up by his mechanic, Arune Kristensen.
Pro Bike Check: Tom Pidcock’s Pinarello Dogma XC HT
- Rider: Tom Pidcock
- Age: 24
- Nationality: British
- Height: 170 cm
- 2023 Season Best Result: 1st at UCI World Cup XC, Nové Město
Fresh off the back of the Tour de France, Tom Pidcock is switching gears this week for his assault on the 2023 UCI XCO World Championships in Scotland. As discussed, Tom’s week got off to a good start with a 3rd place finish in Short Track. While that would have secured him a front row start for the XCO in a World Cup race, it is the rider’s UCI World Ranking that determines their start position in the XCO World Champs race. Tom is currently ranked 19th in the world. That said, we all know this man does not necessarily need a front row start…
At 170 cm tall (5ft 7″), Tom is riding the Pinarello Dogma XC Hardtail in a size small. The bike is not yet in production, and we are still waiting on Pinarello for more information about sizing availability and geometry. What we do know, is that they have implemented a patented asymmetric rear triangle design which reinforces the non-driveside with a more direct triangulated layout to offer increased stiffness to “counterbalance the higher forces being applied” through the drivetrain by the rider’s pedaling input.
Indeed, Pidcock’s race bike is fronted by a 100mm travel SR Suntour Axon 34 fork with the TACT electronic, automatic adjusting suspension damping technology. It offers up to 8 settings that vary from the ultra comfortable, to a much firmer, pedal-efficient setting. Unfortunately, mechanic Arune was not prepared to share Tom’s exact settings with us. It is not clear whether or not any production model will come with the SR Suntour electronic suspension we see on Tom’s bike.
Tom’s Pinarello rolls on the P1 Race Technologies Singularis M30 Wheelset with 30mm internal width carbon rims. With 24 bladed, J-bend spokes, the wavy rim is laced to a very lightweight hubset from Non Plus. Seated onto those rims is a set of 29″ x 2.3″ Continental Race King Race Sport tires with the Black Chilli Compound.
While New Zealand’s Anton Cooper chose to forgo use of a dropper seat post on his Trek Procaliber short track bike, Tom is running the Vertical Helium Dropper Seat Post – which is, incidentally, one of the world’s lightest. This one is normally an 80mm drop, but on Tom’s bike it has been limited 60mm. Atop it is a Fizik Antares saddle with carbon rails.
In the drivetrain department, Tom runs an 11-45T cassette with a Shimano XTR short-cage derailleur. That’s paired with a Shimano XTR crankset with 170mm cranks, 38T chainring and Shimano XTR pedals. Tom rides and races with the SRM spider-based power meter.
In the cockpit, Tom runs the Most Talon Ultra XC handlebar-stem combo at a width of 690mm with a 110mm reach and a negative 17° offset, with ESI grips. While a lot of XC riders are preferring 4-piston brakes, Tom relies upon the Shimano XTR 2-piston brakes for speed management, paired with 160mm Shimano Ice Technologies FREEZA rotors.
It remains unclear as to whether Tom will stick with the Dogma XC Hardtail for the XCO, or switch to the Dogma XC full suspension bike that he rode to victory in Nové Město. That SR Suntour TACT-equipped bike is waiting in the wings, finished with some prototype Continental Ruban tires of the Pure Grip Compound, Shield Wall System flavor.
With alternating blocks of the center tread pattern cut down, the tire is likely better able to bite into the soft terrain the riders have been dealing with on track this week.
Good luck to Tom and the rest of the INEOS team this weekend!
