And then there was victory number four. Seven race days in 2025 for Tom Pidcock, over half of them ending with the British rider on the top step of the podium. It’s not a bad statistic. For Pidcock’s new team, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, this is the stuff that dreams are made of. The off-season drama, the fight for his signature, the complicated sponsor agreements, the 25-year-old has proven it was all worth it, and we’re only in mid-February.
It’s true that Pidcock didn’t really go anywhere in 2024: an Olympic mountain bike gold medal, a fourth place at Strade Bianche, the Amstel Gold Race win, coming close to victory in the Tour de France gravel stage, and finishing just behind Tadej Pogačar at the Giro dell'Emilia, was all proof that he still has the quality to race with the best. However, even the least observant of onlookers would have noticed the tension at Ineos Grenadiers – there was public discourse surrounding his contract agreement, plus a messy, last-minute removal from Il Lombardia and plenty of social media outrage that followed. Pidcock’s talent was still all there last season, but he was clearly no longer happy with the British team that kickstarted his professional career.
So enter Q36.5 Pro Cycling, the ProTeam-level squad run by Doug Ryder who promised Pidcock the opportunities and peace of mind he was missing with his former employers – and so far, so good.
Image: A.S.O/Pauline Ballet
The thing that Tom Pidcock has shown, over and over again, is that he performs best when he has a point to prove. He needs the bit between his teeth. Most of his biggest wins have come off the back of adversity: he returned to win Amstel after feeling like he was robbed of victory there in 2021 due to a controversial photo finish. He wanted to prove doubters wrong at the Olympics who thought he couldn’t defend his title after balancing road and mountain biking throughout the season. He needs to make it known that he has made the right decision to leave a WorldTour outfit for a ProTeam squad when many have questioned his choice.
Even at Pidcock’s most recent race, the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol, he underperformed on the opening stage, losing 40 seconds on the general classification after some mistimed attacks and questionable tactical choices. Typically self-aware, Pidcock shared a meme on his Instagram story the evening after the stage which mocked him for not being able to back up his performances from the Alula Tour a few weeks ago. Fast forward to day two of Ruta del Sol, however, and Pidcock is proving it again. He outsprinted his former teammate Brandon Rivera to take the win in stage two and time back on GC. Pidcock needs doubters. They are what drive him to win.
At the end of last season, he spoke to Rouleur about winning his Olympic mountain bike gold medal: “I guess in some ways, it was like a big relief. But then again at the same time, I felt like it was only as good as expectations. I couldn't help thinking that I haven't achieved that much on the road, so it’s bittersweet, if you know what I mean. I want to leave a legacy in cycling in general.”
Image: A.S.O/Charly Lopez
This is who Tom Pidcock is, never satisfied, always striving for something more. And in order to do what he wants in cycling, Pidcock needs a team that will play by his rules. That’s just the kind of bike rider he is. Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team are so far ticking those boxes: Pidcock is deciding how he races, he’s deciding his calendar, he’s the undisputed leader and, quite simply, he is thriving. The image of him crossing the finish line with his arms in the air after stage two of the Ruta del Sol in front of a dejected Rivera in an Ineos jersey is exactly what the British rider would have been hoping for from this year.
The question that remains, however, is how long will it continue? The Monuments are calling; the one-day races that Pidcock has been vocal about wanting to target. It’s there that he will face the likes of Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and the rest, and it’s there that we’ll see just how good he really is. The signs are promising, but the season is long yet.
Cover image: Getty/Szymon Gruchalski
