"I don’t think Tom Pidcock is going to say, 'well, I’ll go ride around for half my wages at Q36.5'" - Expert expects INEOS star to stay put despite discontent

Despite all the controversy and rumours of discontent within the INEOS Grenadiers, it now looks likely that Tom Pidcock will remain at the British-based team in 2025. Can bridges be repaired and can Pidcock get back to his brilliant best next season though?

Since the big blow out following Pidcock's controversial deselection from INEOS' Il Lombardia lineup, the British, double Olympic gold medallist has been described by some as a bit of a loner, not really merging into the team philosophy. This is something that has caught the attention of Dutch ex pro turned expert, Laurens Ten Dam. "He has his own little kingdom within the team, with Kurt Bogaerts as his personal trainer and confidant, his own mechanic always with him, his own doctor..." Ten Dem explains on the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast.

"This year, Pidcock even said, 'I feel like the team is holding me back,'" Ten Dam continues, more than a little critical of both rider and team. "He was looking for something outside of himself, blaming the team. It’s a mess on all sides."

After Il Lombardia, rumours circulated about Pidcock's potential departure from the team, with the likes of the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team reported to have interest. Ten Dam though, expects Pidcock to stay put regardless of the interest from the Swiss team. "I don’t know what happened. But, yeah, four million pounds, five million euros... I don’t think Tom Pidcock is going to say, 'well, I’ll go ride around for half of that at Q36.5,'" he assesses.

The confusion of the INEOS Grenadiers' transfer strategy is also a talking point among the peloton Ten Dam reveals. "Last year, I texted Aike (Visbeek, team director of Wanty-Intermarché, ed.) a few times, and he said, 'what is INEOS doing with their transfer policy?' He didn’t understand it," the Dutchman concludes. "He already saw last December that it looked like it was imploding."