Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) started from the back of the pack at the Elite Mountain Bike World Cup in Albstadt.

The 21-year-old rider made the step up to elite this year after winning the 2020 U23 Mountain Bike World Championships.

But Pidcock, number 100 and 76th on the start line, found a way through: by the end of the first lap, he was already up to 14th, and by the end of the second lap he had caught up with the lead group and was at the front of the pack at the start of the third lap.

He was not intimidated by the huge task of moving up the order on the Albstadt climb.

"Mentally it was easy. But once I got to the top, I had to change my tactics. It was a long race in hot conditions, so I couldn't just keep going," Pidcock said in an interview with Red Bull TV after the race.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider was unable to hold onto his last position as his early race pace and position battles took their toll. In the end, Nino Schluter (Scott-SRAM) and Viktor Koretzky (KMC-Orbea) fought a sprint battle, with Koretzky taking his first World Cup win. He was followed by Matthias Fluechiger (Toms RN Swissbike), Ondrej Cinque (Cross Oren), and Pidcock. Mathieu van der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix) finished two places further back in seventh.

Pidcock began racing cyclocross, where he finished fourth at the World Championships, shifted to road, where he won the De Brabantse Pijl, and is now turning to mountain biking for the Tokyo Olympics.

With a 5th place finish in the first World Cup race of the season, Pidcock should be able to compete for a better starting position in the next XCO round, the short track event in Nove Mesto.

"Hopefully, I can aim for a front row start from the short track, and the last few laps will be better because I won't have to overtake as many riders," Pidcock said.

Pidcock will also go into the race with the confidence that his first Elite World Cup experience will allow him to lead the race even if things don't go his way.

"Honestly, I'm very happy with how I ran," he said.