"We got a bit of a reality check" - Tom Pidcock reflects on Grand Tour debut for Q36.5

Thanks to an extra wild card handed out this year a Grand Tours, it was possible for Q36.5 Pro Cycling to debut at Giro d'Italia. To pay back the organizer's trust, the Swiss team brought their biggest weapons, Tom Pidcock and sprinter Matteo Moschetti. While it wasn't a terrible debut for Q36.5, they certainly aimed for more than just two stage podiums.

"We came in pretty ambitious, and we got a bit of a reality check," Pidcock admits to Independent. "We came here knowing that it was going to be challenging but also we wanted to come out better. We didn’t achieve that stage win or that top 10 on GC, but I think for a first attempt, it’s not the end of the world. It’s definitely the best grand tour I’ve ever ridden in terms of how I feel on the last day."

Probably many fans were hoping to see the Brit railing the breakaways with many opportunities to repeat the legendary Alpe d'Huez triumph from 2022 Tour de France. One such perfect opportunity would've been the penultimate stage 20 with Colle delle Finestre. But Pidcock missed the large breakaway because his radio broke. "I was pretty pissed off," he admits.

And thus Pidcock leaves the race with a faint 16th spot in GC and few places of honor in stages. "The idea was we’d race to win every day – or every day that suited me – and do the best GC I could."

All eyes were on Pidcock for the 9th stage when peloton revisited the famous roads of Strade Bianche, a race Pidcock won in 2023 and lost only to Tadej Pogacar this spring. But after a puncture and the mass crash, there was little he could've done. "[It] was probably my biggest chance and I had a lot of bad luck that day, but the team rode incredible and they held their own, and they can be proud of that."

But it was clear that it wasn't the same rider that was flying in first races of this season. "I think I’ve paid the price for coming out so strong," he admitted to peaking perhaps a bit too early. "I was super motivated at the start of the year. Even in January camp, I was in super good shape. It’s been a long time since then, kind of missed that extra few per cent."

With his off-season move from INEOS to Q36.5 Pro Cycling last winter, Pidcock was looking to find a leader role for himself. And so far, he describes the experience as "amazing": "There’s been just me, and everyone there to support me. But in the Giro the last week, where we’re just kind of hanging on, it’s difficult to still be the guy with that responsibility, because you’re not doing that well and you still have to keep everyone together."

"I needed a proper reset, and it definitely worked well for the first part of the year," he explains. As a 2022 Cyclocross World Champion, does Pidcock get the itching to race also in the winter? "We’ll see. Cyclocross is tough, we race so much on the road and then to also be mentally racing through the winter as well, it’s hard."