New name for the former Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team: next year, the Italian bike brand Pinarello will become the title sponsor. From 2026, Tom Pidcock and his team-mates will compete as Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling. Most recently, the team competed as a second-class international pro team and had to hope for invitations to the most important cycling races. The team did not receive an invitation for the Tour de France, but recently competed in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana. However, team manager Doug Ryder's racing team has applied for a World Tour licence for the coming years.
Pidcock now only rides on one brand
"I'm really happy to be riding Pinarello full-time again. I have a strong relationship with the brand. It's a perfect reunion," says Pidcock according to a press release from Pinarello. In the past season, the team riders, including Pidcock, were still riding Scott equipment in the road races. In the off-road events, including most recently at the Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands, the 26-year-old Briton used bikes from the Italian manufacturer. Pinarello has celebrated great success as a bike sponsor in the past. For example, Jan Ullrich won the Tour de France in 1997 as well as several riders from the Sky/Ineos Grenadiers team on bikes from the brand. Pidcock won Olympic gold in Paris last year on a mountain bike specially developed for him.
Reinforcements for the 2026 squad
The team has strengthened its ranks for the coming season and will now have 30 riders - three more than before. Sam Bennett, Irish winner of the green jersey at the 2020 Tour de France, will be riding for Pinarello-Q36.5. Other notable reinforcements include tour specialist Eddie Dunbar, sprinting classics specialist Quinten Hermans and all-rounder Fred Wright. German riders are not included. Jannik Steimle no longer appears in the squad for the coming year.
Application for a World Tour licence
The UCI has not yet decided on the allocation of World Tour licences for the next three years (2026-2028). Team Q36.5 finished the 2025 season in 19th place in the world rankings. However, the team is only in 24th place in the ranking for the sporting qualification for one of the 18 licences of the highest racing series, the World Tour. In this ranking, the results from the years 2023 to 2025 are added together. Although the World Tour team Arkéa B&B will cease racing and the Lotto and Intermarché teams will merge, the chances of team boss Doug Ryder's up-and-coming racing team obtaining a top licence are small according to current information. The currently published list of applicants comprises 20 teams. However, Team Israel-Premier Tech faces an uncertain future following the withdrawal of one of its two main sponsors. Tudor and Total Energies have not applied for the World Tour.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
