Q36.5 boss gives backing to Tom Pidcock: "We're giving him full leadership, trust, and faith to try and support his goals and ambitions"

The ambitious Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team have made a big move in this transfer window, bringing in former Tour de France stage winner and double Olympic champion Tom Pidcock from the INEOS Grenadiers.

With the reigning Amstel Gold Race winner becoming arguably the most high profile rider in the second tier of pro cycling, the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team are hoping Pidcock can lead them into the World Tour. "It's a game changer for us," says team boss Doug Ryder to BBC Sport. "We're giving him full leadership, trust, and faith to try and support his goals and ambitions."

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"His attention to detail is next level," adds Ryder. "He focuses on every millimetre; on the bike positioning and the bike set-up, to the nutrition, to the race programme, to the coaching. He met with all the leaders in our team... the head coach, the head nutritionist, the head doctor, the head of performance and was challenging and asking questions."

Pidcock has already made a tough call since his move, cancelling plans to ride any cyclocross this winter as he looks to bed into his new surroundings, get to his new teammates and start stepping up preparation for the 2025 road season. "He really, really wants to get the whole team on board with him, which I haven't seen in some big leaders in the past," Ryder explains. "He's such a good leader and motivator, and it has really impressed our riders."

Pidcock certainly has a proven pedigree of success, both on the road and off-road in cyclocross and mountain bike. Whether the introduction of the Brit can fire the billionaire backed Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team into the World Tour and into the world's biggest races such as the Tour de France, only the coming years will tell. If Ryder's comments are anything to go by though, the Q36.5 team are confident.

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