Tom Pidcock's brother Joe retires from cycling at 24 as Pinarello Q36.5 leader pays tribute - "I dreamed of winning with Joey in his last pro race"
Cycling
Tom Pidcock dreamed of sending his younger brother Joseph Pidcock into retirement with the perfect goodbye - winning the final stage of the Tour of Guangxi and taking the overall with it.
As Jarno Widar bested the British rider in the finale in China, Tom had to settle for silver as he paid tribute to 'Joey', who officially retires from professional cycling at the age of 24.
Joe Pidcock officially called time on his career in Guangxi at the age of 2024. After two seasons at Pinarello Q36.5, the Yorkshire native will not continue in the peloton despite his young age. His cycling career saw him follow in the footsteps of older brother Tom.
He spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons at Groupama FDJ United's development team, riding alongside the likes of Lenny Martinez, Romain Gregoire and Laurence Pithie in the development team's strong crop of young riders.
Read also
Joseph Pidcock's career
Afterwards, he joined British Continental team Trinity Racing for two seasons. Known as a development hotbed for over a dozen current WorldTour talents, it's the team behind big names such as Ben Healy, Tom Pidcock and Paul Magnier. Joey got his big break in 2025 as he joined brother Tom in joining Pinarello Q36.5. In two seasons with the team.
Tom took second overall in Guangxi as the general classification battle took until the final climb of the entire race to kick off. Despite showing strong form in recent weeks, he was just short against Widar - who won by a handful of seconds in the climb to the finish, marking the end of the season.
"The team committed fully for me today," Pidcock said afterwards.
"Matteo did an amazing job all day controlling the breakaway. On the final climb, Joey and Milan helped keep the pace high. I felt really good, but I was second best today."
Tom Pidcock pays tribute to brother Joey
Taking to Instagram, Tom revealed his main motivation for victory was not just a WorldTour overall win, but to finish with a flourish in the last time he'll ride alongside his brother while they're both professional.
"Today I dreamed of winning with Joey in his last pro race but we had to settle for second… again," Pidcock wrote on Instagram.
"I can be proud of how far myself and Pinarello Q36.5 have come. Now time for some fun and a good old rest," he concluded. "But I must say… I'm already excited for next year."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- The article makes it sound like a great thing and something to be applauded. The reality is is gives the Americans another 6 years to fleece European cycling fans or force them to hunt around Europe with VPN’s for free feeds. Not something to be celebrated in my book. Before someone points out that coverage of this depth costs money, yes, I agree but not £30+ per month a fee I will wager will gradually increase now this deal has been cemented.Paul53119-10-2026
- Great. Thrilled. (Satire) Oh, how I miss the days of GCN. Still wear my GCN hoodie with pride.anonymouscyclist19-10-2026
- You could also look at it another way. How many riders have had better or more consistent results since the Tour?Jumpyjohn19-10-2026
- Whilst I love Tadej (and Remco, who deserves to be mentioned here, too), @JumpyJohn makes a valid point, and he isn’t wrong @MajorPayne. It is a fact that today’s official broadcasters of cycling struggle to keep our attention once the likes of Tadej (or Remco) attacks at ~80km or so. In the 142nd issue of Rouleur, Ned Boulting reflects on the often stressful paradox of commentating on a race that is effectively over before the broadcast window even hits its stride. In this edition, he centres on Remco’s 1hr solo at the Challenge Mallorca this year, and captures the panic and dread shared by the commentators when a dominant rider kills off the racing tension early. I recommend you read it, it’s a fascinating insight into the world of commentary, and the true viewing figures of today’s cycling. I must add here, I love Tadej and Remco, but I would be lying if my heart rate wasn’t higher when watching the World Championships this year. And I’m sure Rob Hatch would say something akin regarding his commentary!anonymouscyclist19-10-2026
- The shattered women’s marathon record was clean and highly surprising and then a few months later the athlete was very positive in another test for something not taken by mistake when recording far less impressive results. Sounds to me like the problem is still the age old one, detection is often way behind. Just like with crime, it’s not because you can’t catch the criminals that you aren’t aware of the crime.Jumpyjohn19-10-2026
- Listen, you have a point but on the other hand in cycling, once some of the riders go solo and build a minute’s gap, there’s hardly any action left to watch. Cycling is definitely not for today’s generations of accelerated viewing. Other people find skydiving or chess exciting but you can’t force everyone to feel the same.Jumpyjohn19-10-2026
- That’s a funny one. Yeah obviously he’s more aero than some but most of the aero effect at elite level is the bike. Now you have me starting to feel sorry for the guy behind him when he pulls a groupetto.Jumpyjohn19-10-2026
- Knew a World Tour promotion was coming for Ben this season. Thrilled for him, and can't wait to see what he can do at this level. Another one to watch at the TTs.anonymouscyclist19-10-2026
- It honestly breaks my heart to see this. I had a feeling this might happen over the last few years, but I kept praying it wouldn't, and that Joey would find his niche, especially back racing alongside his brother. After growing up racing alongside PH-MAS, the Pidcock brothers have always felt like one of our own, as we’ve watched them grow from Club level all the way up to PC and WT. I wish Joey nothing but the best of luck in whatever he does next, but selfishly… I do wish for him to move into the role of Q36.5 team staff.anonymouscyclist19-10-2026
- Predictable, sure! But boring??? OMG! Was Mike Tyson predictable and boring in his prime? Air Jordan? Schumacher or Senna? OMG!!!MajorPayne19-10-2026
Loading
1 Comments