Tom Pidcock has finally put all transfer rumours to bed this morning by announcing that he will move to Q36.5 Pro Cycling in the new year. This transfer comes after the British star was released earlier this week by his former team Ineos Grenadiers.
Ineos allowed Pidcock to leave early after a rollercoaster season that ended with the Yorkshireman getting dropped from the line-up for Il Lombardia in the autumn. Rumours then began to swirl of a move to second-division Q36.5 Pro Cycling before things seemed to mend themselves in November.
However, Pidcock has now finally taken the leap and signed for the Swiss ProTeam on a three-year deal that should see him through to the end of the 2027 season. This move is one of the most high-profile and most controversial of the 2024/25 transfer window, which will soon close shop when the new season kicks off in January.
In light of this transfer announcement, we’ll weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of this deal and what it could mean for Pidcock’s future.
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Advantage: The opportunity to be part of a long-term project
In the statement announcing the news on Q36.5’s official team website, Pidcock said, ‘The chance to work with a team that’s growing, with incredible partners and brands, is something that motivates me’. This suggests that Pidcock’s signing is a key part of a long-term vision the team has planned for the coming years.
This feeling of team ambition is crucial to the potential success of this partnership. Unlike Ineos, who have struggled for results in recent years, Q36.5 appears to be a team only capable of growth going forward. Pidcock will be aiming to help steer Q36.5 to a WorldTour spot.
Q36.5 Pro Cycling is no brunt in the cycling stable though. The team is backed by a number of blue-chip sponsors and the team has a network of wealthy backers and stakeholders. One of those includes South African billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, who bought bike brand Pinarello for a reported sum of €200million last year. They should, therefore, be able to help build a team around Pidcock, most likely starting in the summer of 2025 when a fresh transfer window opens.
Doug Ryder, the frontman of the Q36.5 Pro Cycling staff room, has also developed a skill for signing riders onto his team throughout its many iterations during the 2010s under the Qhubeka name. These deals include the signature of the talented Edvald Boasson-Hagen, world-class sprinter Mark Cavendish and Giro points jersey winner Giacomo Nizzolo. He convinced enough former WorldTour riders to join Q36.5 when it launched just two years ago and with Pidcock on board, this might be the sign of great things to come.
The team’s management will be hoping for a similar situation to that of Ryder’s former team MTN-Qhubecka, which took a few years to grow from a humble second-divison team into a squad capable of winning five stages at the 2016 Tour de France. Pidcock might be the figure to help this transformation take shape.
On a business note too, Pidcock will be able to make the team his own, both on the bike and off the bike. It is likely that Pinarello will join forces with the Swiss team at the end of 2025 when the current sponsorship agreement with Scott expires. This should help bring extra attention onto the team. With Pidcock’s added responsibilities as a Red Bull athlete, he could be an important character in growing the team’s reputation in the sport.
Advantage: A true leadership role
If the rumours are true, then Pidcock was rather disgruntled when faced with the idea of being sidelined in favour of Ineos’s new leader Carlos Rodríguez. The team has more depth than just Rodríguez however. Ineos Grenadiers is also home to two-time world champion Filippo Ganna and upcoming British TT star Josh Tarling. In the mountains, even Thymen Arensman’s palmarès eclipses that of Pidcock in the Grand Tours.
In short, he had to share the limelight with plenty of colleagues at his former squad. As a result, it was becoming increasingly difficult to earn leadership opportunities.
At Q36.5, Pidcock will have the chance to become the out-and-out leader. Yes, the team currently have some strong climbers and Classics stars. However, none match the same level as Pidcock, particularly if we’re looking at results over the past two seasons – sorry David de la Cruz.
With Pidcock at the top of the pecking order, we might finally be able to see what he’s truly capable of. Plus, this will probably help his morale rebuild after two seasons spent feuding over leadership duties.
Advantage: Scope to continue multi-discipline approach
It was no secret that Ineos Grenadiers were hoping to wind down Pidcock's objectives in cyclocross and mountain biking, even after his second Olympic gold this summer in the cross-country. In Ineos's statement covering his departure, the team made it clear that Pidock didn't want to park these ambitions. Ineos Grenadiers CEO John Allert was quoted on Wednesday saying, 'Tom has some big multi-disciplinary goals and we believe this decision enables both of us to pursue our future ambitions with clarity, purpose and determination.'
At Q36.5, Pidcock has the freedom to continue his off-road pursuits without having to appease his road team. This is a win-win situation for both parties. Pidcock can carry on doing what he wants and Q36.5 will gain some exposure in cyclocross and mountain biking. For the clothing brand that sponsors the squad, this will be a huge bonus in getting its name out there to a wider audience.
The Swiss team's current bike sponsors Scott have all the necessary equipment to make that happen. The team in their announcement of Pidcock's arrival made it clear that they want to continue utilising his off-road expertise. The chairperson of the team and founder of the Q36.5 clothing brand, Luigi Bergamo, said, 'With his revolutionary, multi-disciplinary approach that has versatility at its heart, Tom is the perfect embodiment of our own approach'.
Bergamo also remarked that this partnership would help the brand develop Q36.5's high-performance clothing. This hints at a potential pivot into off-road items headed by Pidcock.
Disadvantage: Limited access to WorldTour races
By taking the step down to a ProTeam, Pidcock sacrifices his ability to enter every WorldTour race. Ineos, as a top-division team, are automatically granted invites to all three Grand Tours, five Monuments and every WorldTour race in between.
With this, Pidcock’s WorldTour objectives may have to be tighter streamlined and his appearances at the top level will be less frequent. Q36.5 are unlikely to receive invites to the Grand Tours in 2025 and their one-day programme is nowhere near that of Ineos Grenadiers. Therefore, it's relatively safe to say that we won't be seeing Pidcock at the Tour de France for the three following seasons.
Regardless, Q36.5 earned invites into some top-level races in 2024. In terms of Monuments – the kind of races he told the Cyclist Magazine Podcast that he’d be targetting in 2025 – Pidcock's new Swiss team entered both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. They were sidelined for the two Italian Monuments as well as Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a race Q36.5’s latest recruit has podiumed in the past.
In terms of stage races, Q36.5 have a stripped-back WorldTour schedule. They were handed wildcards to the team’s home races of the Tour de Suisse and Tour de Romandie as well as the Critérium du Dauphiné. This gives Pidcock something to work with, but it’s not quite the same unfiltered access he had at Ineos Grenadiers.
If we’re looking to turn this into a positive, however, Pidcock might be able to score more wins while riding on the second-division of pro cycling. By entering smaller races, Pidcock might become a big fish in a small pond, helping him to score a healthy UCI points tally – look out Marc Hirschi.
Disadvantage: No more WorldTour status
So, Pidcock has signed to Q36.5 on a three-year deal. This will see him through to the end of 2027. By that point, the next cycle of WorldTour promotions and relegations will be on the horizon in 2028. Seeing that the top two teams from this division go through to the WorldTour, it's disheartening to see that Q36.5 linger in around eighth place in the standings. Unless things change very quickly, the team have a mountain to climb if they hope to enter the WorldTour by 2028.
Currently, Uno X are on the fringes of promotion. They're likely to be contenders in 2028 when the next round of promotions takes place. Likewise, Tudor Pro Cycling, home of new signings Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi, will also be trying to edge closer to the WorldTour. Their roster is packed with stellar personnel and they already have access to the Giro d'Italia among other high-profile WorldTour races.
Not only does this level of competition harm Q36.5's chances of graduating from the ProTeam strata, but it also makes it harder for Pidcock's new team to compete for wildcard invites. The traditional powers from Italy, France and Spain occupy many invitee slots already, but Uno X and Tudor Pro Cycling have an early jump on making it onto the Grand Tour scene too. With more French teams expected to join the ProTeam level as a result of relegations at the end of 2025, it's tough to see a future for Pidcock in the WorldTour with Q36.5.
Disadvantage: Weakened personnel
It's no secret that Q36.5 Pro Cycling isn't on the same level as Ineos Grenadiers in terms of its roster. In all fairness, the Swiss team has only been around for two seasons and it is limited by its ProTeam status. However, Pidcock's access to Monument-winning domestiques is long gone.
Q36.5 have a much weakened field of helpers to support him achieve his lofty objectives. That said, he will be flanked by some talented former WorldTour riders next year. Sjoerd Bax, the unsung hero of Tadej Pogačar's rampant 2023 Classics campaign, will join Q36.5 in the new year. Similarly, the team has bolstered its numbers with veteran Emīls Liepiņš and former mountain biker Milan Vader. Looking at their 2024 roster, the squad is punctuated with a lot of experienced riders who have ridden on the WorldTour for a number of seasons. It's not quite the same level as Ineos, but there's certainly some experience and expertise for Pidcock to lean on here.
On top of that, some of Pidcock's biggest wins have come from solo efforts, so he doesn't necessarily need a train of helpers to win.
