Why it’s definitely strange, but also not, that Tom Pidcock will race for Q36.5

After a long, lingering saga, Tom Pidcock finally transferred to Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team this Friday. The real cycling fan will probably be familiar with this team after two years of existence, but for many, it is—and will remain—a somewhat strange move. What is the team's background?

First, let's mention the hot topic itself: Pidcock. The two-time Olympic mountain bike champion Brit has made himself somewhat of a nuisance at INEOS Grenadiers in recent months. As such, he was left out of the selection for the Tour of Lombardy, his main goal this fall. This was just one of the footnotes in an offseason full of rumors.

This ended four years of employment with the multi-million dollar formation, where Pidcock was treated and paid as the absolute leader. During that time, he gave the team victories in such races as Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race, the Brabantse Pijl, and a Tour stage, but also many headaches.

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This included his desire to take his own chances in the Tour de France and some minor conflicts in the classics that needed to be contained because of the Brit's stubborn racing behavior. Sports Director Steven Cummings suffered from this—partly due to an embarrassing series of clips in the Netflix series about the Tour, among other things —and as of next season, he is working for Jayco AlUla.

Finally, this led to a brief press release Wednesday from INEOS Grenadiers, announcing that Pidcock will no longer be a rider on the team as of January 1, 2025. "We're really proud of the work we've done with Tom to help him achieve some extraordinary and memorable moments. Together we've written a powerful chapter and shown how exciting and diverse professional cycling can be."

The name of Q36.5 had long been rumored as a new employer for Pidcock, which was made official on Friday through a dazzling press release. "Pidcock’s decision to join Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team reflects the shared vision for growth and the freedom to pursue big objectives," it sounded. Pidcock himself: "This isn’t just a change of jersey; it’s the start of something special. 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."

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Who is Q36.5, and what lies at the heart of the cycling team?

Q36.5 saw the light of day in early 2023 at the pro-continental level. The team owner is Doug Ryder, who made a restart with this formation after his Qhubeka NextHash project (the former MTN-Qhubeka and Dimension Data) ceased to exist in 2021. So, with Q36.5 as its namesake, this team started in 2023, but where did that name come from anyway?

"This name stands for research and development," we read back on the site. "Quarere in Latin means research, and 36.5 stands for the ideal body temperature in degrees Celsius during a physical activity." The team's announcement involved some familiar names besides Ryder, such as Performance Manager Alex Sans Vega, technical advisor Vincenzo Nibali, and Dutch team managers Aart Vierhouten and Rik Reinerink.

In addition, well-known brands such as bike brand Scott, Swiss watch brand Breitling, Swiss bank UBS and Mercedes-Benz signed contracts directly. Altogether, Q36.5 is thus the primary sponsor in front of the scenes. Still, in addition to those big companies, behind the scenes, it is said to be Swiss-nationalized South African businessman Ivan Glasenberg who holds a significant portion of the reins.

Glasenberg, 67, was a South African speed-walking champion in his younger days and then made a name for himself at the giant commodities company Glencore. He was CEO there between 2002 and 2021, making him immensely rich. In all those years as a successful businessman, however, Glasenberg also found it important to stay fit, which led him to invest in companies like Q36.5 and, just last year, Pinarello.

In the summer of 2023, the Swiss bought 80 percent of the shares for about 250 million euros of the Italian bicycle brand, on which - yes - Pidcock at INEOS Grenadiers also won his victories and Olympic titles. Hence, the link between Pidcock and the Switzerland-based team, which is only 24th in the global rankings, is quickly made, so even though we will probably not see Pidcock in the WorldTour for the next few years unless a spot miraculously opens up somewhere and Q36.5 with the increased budget can jump in there.

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Q36.5 did not achieve top results in its first two years

Okay, so at INEOS Grenadiers, Pidcock seemed to have some trouble with the shared leadership within that team. He does not seem to have that problem at Q36.5. The team started in 2023 with Gianluca Brambilla (then 35 years old), Carl Fredrik Hagen (31 years old, now retired), Matteo Moschetti (sprinter of 26), Damien Howson (30 years old), and Swedish time trialist Tobias Ludvigsson (32 years old) as the big names.

That season included seven victories, Moschetti's Clasica Almeria in February being the biggest. New riders were then brought in for 2024, including Belgian classics specialist Frederik Frison (32), Italian sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo (35), Spanish classics rider David de la Cruz (35) and German hard rider Jannik Steimle (28) as eye-catchers. Yet the number of wins stalled at only five, as many as Pidcock achieved in his professional road career. Steimle's victory from the early breakaway in the GP Denain was the biggest.

For 2025, the formation - in addition to Pidcock enlisted in December - has now attracted six riders, two of whom are from the Netherlands: Sjoerd Bax (UAE-Team Emirates) and Milan Vader (Visma | Lease a Bike) will ride for the team next year, as will Lotto-Dstny-Belgian Harm Vanhoucke, two Spaniards and Emils Liepins, who came over from dsm-firmenich PostNL.

We spoke with Bax in October about his transfer from Tadej Pogacar 's team. "Going to another team was more attractive for me, both sporting and financially. I do hope for a free role to go in the breakaway. In the smaller races, I hope to really compete for the results. And we have our service course in Oosterhout in the Netherlands, so that's useful."

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Pidcock "knows what challenge he's facing"

Bax thus knows what it is like to race with a big name, but Vader also knows that from Visma. And of course he knows mountain biking well, perhaps even better than Pidcock. "I will always love it, but I have learned to enjoy the road more and more. I have already made great progress and would like to do this for the rest of my life," said Vader, who announced that he is looking forward to going for his own chance in races with an explosive ending.

And let those be precisely the races in which Pidcock can also excel, at least if they get a wildcard for the big races. "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,' the British rider revealed. '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 a crucial step in my career. Let’s make it happen."

Ryder and co warmly welcomed Pidcock, who will have his regular coach Kurt Bogaerts with him, at the team's January training camp in Calpe. "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," said the team boss, supported by Q36.5 owner Luigi Bergamo. "With his revolutionary, multi-disciplinary 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."

Boundaries that certainly have yet to be pushed by the cycling team as a whole based on the past two years, but now, with the arrival of Pidcock, they are assured of a world-class rider for three seasons.

Read also

Pidcock signs a three-year contract with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team: "2025 is about to get lit!"

Pidcock departs from INEOS, awaiting new team and calendar: "The odds of him competing in cyclo-cross are unlikely"

Meanwhile in the peloton | (Still) no Van Gils, but a new Italian at Astana in 2025, Arashiro shows no signs of stopping

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