Tom Pidcock labels Ineos Grenadiers exit as 'best decision' despite missing Tour de France with new team Q36.5
Updated 14/01/2025 at 15:37 GMT
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Tom Pidcock spoke about his Ineos Grenadiers departure, admitting that the decision to leave the British outfit was "not difficult" and the "best" course of action. Pidcock added that having a year away from the Tour de France with Q36.5 would provide him with a "welcome" opportunity to regain his "hunger", after two years without a stage win.
'What I signed up for was not happening' - Pidcock lifts lid on Ineos exit
Video credit: TNT Sports
Tom Pidcock has opened up about his Ineos Grenadiers departure and looked ahead to the new campaign with his new team, Q36.5.
This winter, Pidcock completed a high-profile transfer from Ineos to join Q36.5.
The 25-year-old had been with Ineos since 2021 and, in that time, won a stage of the 2022 Tour de France and claimed victory in the Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold Race one-day classics.
However, speculation regarding his relationship with the team’s management was followed by his deselection for the Giro di Lombardia in October.
Pidcock’s Ineos departure was ultimately announced in December, despite the rider having signed a new five-year contract in 2022.
"What I'd signed up for was not what was happening," Pidcock exclusively told Eurosport. "That vision changed from their side.
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"It was not necessarily anybody’s fault. There was new management and new objectives. Our paths didn’t really align anymore. It was not a difficult decision.
"The hardest point was at the November camp when I was with the team doing all the medicals.
"I went through all that even though I knew I was leaving. They didn’t know what was going on. A lot of those people I’m pretty close to. They’re friends. That was difficult.
"But leaving the team was the best decision."
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Pidcock on Tour de France
In 2022, Pidcock made his name by winning one of the Tour de France’s most iconic stages – Stage 12 to Alpe d'Huez. That day, the Briton reached speeds approaching 100km/h during the descents.
However, 2025 will see Pidcock miss the Tour for the first time in four years, with his new Swiss-based ProTeam currently in cycling's second tier, below the World Tour where each of the 18 teams are automatically invited to the sport's three-week Grand Tours.
Pidcock admitted: "I think I welcome a change and welcome a year out. I think the last two years were pretty tough.
"So I don’t mind taking a year out and having that hunger come back, ready to get this team into the race and me back in it as well."
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Pidcock enjoying 'fresh start and fresh outlook' after move to Q36.5 from Ineos
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‘Fresh start’ at Q36.5
Pidcock will begin his season at the five-stage AlUla Tour in Saudi Arabia on January 28.
Ahead of the campaign, he admitted he was savouring the opportunity for a "fresh start".
"It’s a fresh outlook on everything," he said. "I’m going to have a lot of freedom.
"Last year was not an easy year, that’s no secret. This is going to be a fresh start. I feel like my wings have spread."
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Pidcock continued: "Basically, from the very first meeting I knew this is the place to go – the freedom I’d get there, the belief in me, the vision of where they wanted to go. I knew this was the place. The story we could write and the satisfaction we could get from achieving it from where we are.
"There are a lot of teams that were an option but I think this is going to provide a better satisfaction for me. And also get back to the basics.
"It’s also small team; stuff gets done quickly. Everyone can talk to everyone and they care about everyone in the same way which is really nice.
"I had a really good winter. Of course, there was no cyclocross which was a big change. It was my first Christmas at home in seven years. It was nice.
"I’ve also had really consistent training, so I think I’ve prepared well, but you never know.
"We’ll see when we get there. There are a lot of things I’ve had my mind on and [I’m also] getting used to the team. The move happened late, so there were a lot of things to be done in a shorter amount of time than perhaps usual."
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