Q36.5 are NOT done yet! Giro d'Italia stage winner joins Tom Pidcock into 2026 season

Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team have signed Tom Pidcock last winter and when you've got such a staple within a team, and with the overall level rising with other riders as well, it makes a big difference in the team's overall attractiveness. The Swiss outfit is putting that into full use and after the signings of Fred Wright and Eddie Dunbar, a third top-tier World Tour figure in Chris Harper is joining the team.

“Chris is a rider who progressed through the ranks at a steady pace, still improving every year even if he is not 20 anymore. He is an intelligent guy who feels he can benefit from all the professional expertise we have on the team," team manager Doug Ryder said in a press release. Harper's signing comes as a surprise and only 24 hours after his current teammate Eddie Dunbar, both of which will be racing the Vuelta a España later this week for Team Jayco AlUla who is losing big assets for the mountains in these two riders.

And Harper, like Dunbar, is going to join the Swiss team with a multitude of opportunities including GC roles, stage hunting or even domestique duties for Pidcock and Dunbar. After several years in the Australian continental ranks, he joined Visma for three years and in 2023 he signed with Jayco, serving as a right-hand man for Simon Yates, but this year getting even more opportunities to ride for his own. He had the plan of racing the Giro for GC but that failed, but he made up for a disappointing race with a glorious solo victory on the final mountain stage, having gone solo off the front at the Colle delle Finèstre.

"He based his choice on joining us on that and I am happy he did. Chris is a rider who races aggressively, senses the stages and races he has a chance in and goes all in. His win in the Giro is testament to his racing style. He has a lot of Grand Tour experience and fits right into our plans for the future.”

“From the outside it’s clear this is a team on the up, with lots of ambition to perform at the World Tour level. I am a late starter to the sport and feel like every year I am still progressing so being on a team where I am surrounded by passionate riders and staff who aim to improve on every level, appealed to me," Harper added.

The 30-year old is steadily evolving as a rider until now and what he did at the Giro d'Italia could be an appetizer to what he may be doing in the coming two years with Q36.5. “I consider that victory my highlight because it had been a challenging few weeks. I had gone into the Giro feeling strong but fell ill and lost the belief. I remember saying that morning that the stage would be for the GC guys but went in the break nonetheless. Throughout the day I felt better. Finishing off a Grand Tour like that is amazing.”