"The best decision I’ve ever made in my career" - Tom Pidcock's departure from INEOS turned his life around
CyclingWednesday, 23 September 2026 at 11:04
Tom Pidcock is ready to battle for what may be his first rainbow jersey in elite road cycling this weekend in Montréal. Leading up to it, the Briton has spoken about his career, including his departure from Netcompany INEOS - which he has called the best decision of his career.
In early 2021, Pidcock was hired by INEOS, becoming one of the British team's British talents. His success wouldn't take long to be shown, as he became Olympic Mountain BIke champion that year. The year after, he would win the Alpe d'Huez stage at the Tour de France, whilst he had also conquered the world championships in cyclocross.
Without a doubt, INEOS had gathered one of the biggest talents the sport had ever seen. In 2024 Pidcock would win the MTB Olympics for a second time, but on the road his tally over the years was not large. It included big triumphs such as Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold Race, but his victory tally after four seasons in the team was of only five wins on the road.
After internal disputes and plenty questions about his role in the team, Pidcock departed the team. His contract lasted all the way until the end of 2027, but he left several years earlier, joining Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team under the influence of Pinarello owner Ivan Glasenberg.
“Choosing which team to join was a long process that required a lot of reflection and time to make a decision," Pidcock shared with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Now I can say with certainty that, yes, it was probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my career. In fact, I’d say I’ve never made a bad decision when it comes to team contracts".
Tom Pidcock during the 2026 Tour de France
Pidcock has in 2025 finished on the podium of the Vuelta a España, finally confirming his potential as a Grand Tour candidate after several years of trying. In less than two seasons he's taken 10 wins already, refound his confidence and has also raced at a level of consistency he hadn't reached before with INEOS.
Pidcock an MTB World Champion once again
The Briton was close to winning Milano-Sanremo earlier this year against Tadej Pogacar, and after a Tour de France where he was a headliner, he has returned to Mountain Biking. Without a single warm-up race, he stormed into a rainbow jersey that has marked his summer.
“After the Tour, we postponed our participation in the Mountain Bike World Championships by three weeks. Then I started feeling better and training harder, so we said, ‘Okay, we can give it a shot'."
Pidcock aims to win road World Championships
He has since returned to road racing full-time: "It went great, but getting back into the rhythm now is tougher. That’s why I raced in Italy and in the Canadian races leading up to the World Championships".
He won the GP Industria & Artigianato; whilst finishing fourth and sixth at the GP de Québec and GP de Montréal. With Tadej Pogacar not taking part in the World Championships, Pidcock has become one of the main favourites.
But is he a certain candidate for victory? He certainly doesn't think that is the case himself, pointing towards the three men that stood out in the Canadian classics as the men to take charge.
“I think that role belongs to Evenepoel, Del Toro, and Seixas. But I’m going to give it a try," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- It's a horribly composed article. It doesn't mention his name until the third paragraph, and even then it only mentions his last name. I miss the days when we had what was called journalism.
santiagobenites23-09-2026 - My pick for the win is Isaac Del Toro, given how great he looked while winning the race in Montreal a week and a half ago. My sentimental favorite for the win is Wout Van Aert. I know that that's not going to happen, but I'm sure that a lot of cycling fans would be absolutely thrilled if he did.santiagobenites23-09-2026
- Ineos didn’t know what they had or how to handle him.mij23-09-2026
- Yes and I don’t know any female TT specificalists that are this great. Marlen is amazing, but who else? Vos is a goat but not TT.mij23-09-2026
- I don’t know who some is or are but if you read all the other reports with comments by those who were part of that peleton (and there are at least two others with quite some coverage on this website), it seems like some are happy to stay as anonymous as possible because they’re in a very tiny minority. Even the motorbike comments oppose what the anonymous some from this article are giving as an explanation. I think it’s pretty obvious, despite the Montreal course being considered too tough for him, he’s intending to give it his all. And someone capable of finishing LBL with distinctly more elevation gain 3rd shouldn’t be considered inferior to any of Remco, Wout or Seixas.Jumpyjohn23-09-2026
- I didn’t but it just confirmed that we should have been discussing what he was up to. He obviously decided stages 2-4 were of no use or interest to him in light of his plan for stage 5, or is someone going to try to convince me he woke up that morning one week before the WC and spontaneously decided he’d go for his own personal training ride during a stage race?Jumpyjohn23-09-2026
- "USA - nearly home advantage". Ha - Canadian fans likely to be booing when they see the Stars and Stripes on the road. Trump's 51st state nonsense not likely to be generating many warm fuzzy feelings between neighbours.mobk23-09-2026
- You’d have to move to the ladies to find anyone that could be considered equal in that department.Jumpyjohn23-09-2026
- If Seixas does it, it'd be meteoric, but I have to go with Pidcock as he's my home man, may the best rider win, whomever gets it, will be a valiant winner 👍
leedorney23-09-2026 - Agreed, and I wouldn’t write him off for GTs even as it gets more competitive. If you remember some, like Thomas, who started and had success on the track before slowly improving GT abilities, he should keep the options.Jumpyjohn23-09-2026
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