“2025 is about to get lit”: Tom Pidcock signs three-year deal with second-tier Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team after leaving Ineos Grenadiers – and says he can now make “racing my bike a priority”

The ‘will they, won’t they’ cycling transfer saga of the winter has finally reached it conclusion, as Swiss second-tier squad Q36.5 Pro Cycling announced on Friday morning the signing of British multidisciplinary star Tom Pidcock on a three-year deal.

On Wednesday, it was confirmed, after months of speculation following his dramatic last-minute deselection from Il Lombardia in October, that Pidcock was set to leave the Ineos Grenadiers, the British team with which he turned professional in 2021, after both parties agreed to rip up his contract three years before it was due to run out in 2027.

That decision followed a turbulent season for the 25-year-old which, despite winning Amstel Gold and his second gold medal in mountain biking at the Paris Olympics, was marred by internal tensions within Ineos, in the midst of the British team’s worst ever season since it joined the peloton in 2010.

(Elliot Keen/British Cycling/via SWpix.com)

In September, Pidcock admitted in an interview with the Belgian press that the fractious atmosphere within the team, particularly over his race calendar and multidisciplinary leanings, didn’t “help me perform at my best”.

Things then came to a head at Il Lombardia, the last monument of the season and one which the Yorkshireman was set to enter as a contender, when he was dramatically dropped from the line-up on the eve of the race, a decision Ineos staff admitted came from senior management and was not based on performance reasons.

With the relationship between Pidcock and the team at breaking point, a transfer saga duly followed – though one laden with financial uncertainty thanks to the former Strade Bianche winner’s bumper contract – with Visma-Lease a Bike, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and Q36.5 all reportedly interested in the Brit’s signature.

And it was finally confirmed today that Q36.5 have won the race to sign Pidcock, a development the Swiss-based team – a descendant of the old MTN-Qhubeka outfit, which tasted success at the Tour de France in the 2010s courtesy of Pidcock’s old DS Steve Cummings – described as a “game-changing addition to our roster”.

“We are honoured to welcome Tom Pidcock to the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team,” team manager Doug Ryder said in a statement today announcing the 25-year-old’s arrival on a three-year deal.

“Tom is a true embodiment of passion and competitive spirit, qualities that resonate deeply with our team’s values. His extraordinary talent, both on and off the bike, and his proven ability to win at the WorldTour level make him a game-changing addition to our roster. We look forward to writing this next chapter together.”

 (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

For former cyclocross world champion Pidcock, the move to Q36.5 – while representing a step down from WorldTour to ProSeries level (and potentially meaning no invite to next year’s Tour de France) – could lead to both an undisputed leadership position and more freedom in his calendar choices, on and off the road, after butting heads with Ineos’ management over the British team’s insistent focus on the Tour.

“This isn’t just a change of jersey, it’s the start of something special,” Pidcock said today, while also positing a video on Instagram which claimed that “2025 is going to be lit”.

“The chance to work with a team that’s growing, with incredible partners and brands, is something that motivates me. I can’t wait to see what we’ll achieve together.

“I know the challenge that we face getting to where we want to be but it’s an adventure and I’m excited for it.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by ᵀᴼᴹ ᴾᴵᴰᶜᴼᶜᴷ (@tompidcock)

He continued, with a not-so veiled dig at the tensions with Ineos this year: “I love racing my bike, and I'm looking forward to making that a priority. Joining a team that believes in me and shares my vision of success makes this an incredibly important step in my career. Let’s make it happen.”

Meanwhile, the team’s founder, chairperson, and R&D director Luigi Bergamo added: “With his revolutionary, multidisciplinary approach that has versatility at its heart, Tom is the perfect embodiment of our own approach to product development.

“Having Tom as part of the team offers us the opportunity not just to compete for victory at the world’s most prestigious races but also to continue to push the very boundaries of Q36.5's vision of what the future of performance cycling clothing can be. I can’t wait to send him his first pair of Dottore bib shorts and hear what he thinks!”