"He is back to being more the old Tom Pidcock" - Q36.5 leader's coach on building a perfect machine away from INEOS Grenadiers

Tom Pidcock's move to Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team was in the making for several months throughout the winter and came to be with an impresssive amount of success. After 5 wins in 4 years with INEOS, the Briton has won taken now four wins in the space of a month and is eager to take on Tadej Pogacar at Strade Bianche.

“In any case, the ambition was to start strongly. We know from previous years that an early win creates a different atmosphere in the team and a different feeling in the head. In 2023, Tom also won early in the Algarve, which later led to victory in the Strade Bianche," Pidcock's coach Kurt Bogaerts argued to Wielerflits.

"In the new team, that was perhaps even more important. There had been quite a bit of criticism of his move and he could prove them wrong right away". With two stage (and the GC) wins at the AlUla Tour he made a quick move; and then at the Vuelta a Andalucia he won again on the final day and finished on the final podium of the overall classification.

This was pretty much the ideal start of the year for the Swiss team (that has also taken a few other quality wins), and will certainly be of some help towards their hunt for wildcards. The Giro d'Italia is very much on the table and it could be said that the Q36.5's presence is likely.

But the Grand Tours did cause a big issue for Pidcock back at INEOS. “On paper, the team focuses on several domains, but INEOS Grenadiers still has the DNA of a Grand Tour team. That caused some tension, because according to them, Tom had more potential in the Grand Tours.” And sure enough, the Briton could aim for them again in the future, but at the time being the priority lies in his specialty on the road.

“100%! Grand tours remain a goal. He has gone through an evolution as a rider and that has also made him a better climber. That will make it more attractive to work towards a Grand Tour. We are also going to start a time trial project," Bogaerts, who's become not only a coach but a key figure in the team's management, reveals.

"We are building something up in the long term and we will have to see what that will yield in terms of results in a few years. But I think he wants to win a monument first before he really sets his sights on that. He is not one hundred percent committed to it yet.” Milano-Sanremo, the Ardennes - and this Saturday Strade Bianche - at the time being remain his big focus, with his form also exactly where it should be. 

The decision not to race cyclocross this winter was according to the Belgian a big benefit for the multi-disciplinary rider. "We have built a broad base, and precisely because he has not raced cyclo-cross, we have worked specifically to bring out his explosiveness again and to sharpen the shorter effort. He is back to being more the old Tom Pidcock.”

But in Italy, he will face none other than Tadej Pogacar: “You know that Pogacar is the best rider in the world, but you have to look at that as something exciting. You shouldn’t give up on it in advance. Or start thinking: the faster he’s gone, the faster we can race for second place. No, Pogacar is a good indicator to see where you stand, whether you’re getting closer and possibly be able to beat him".