It doesn't even pass the sniff test. His spring campaign was more or less the same as before, even without CX. Not to mention that he finished the Giro 45 minutes behind Vingegaard's domestique. By the way, he became European XCO champion literally one month before the Vuelta, so much for focusing on road racing.
Pidcock has done better than expected, but at the same time he's had a better preparation for the Vuelta. The team only got a confirmed wildcard about a month before the Giro, while Pidcock did a full classics season. He was always going to better in a GC sense at the Vuelta.
