Chasing stage wins or a potential GC bid? – How Tom Pidcock will attack his Giro d'Italia debut with Q36.5

Tom Pidcock tasted Grand Tour success very early in his career, etching his name into the history books at just 22, with victory atop the fabled Alpe d'Huez at his first Tour de France and second time racing one of cycling's ultimate three-week tests. But since then, 1,029 days have passed, 43 Grand Tour stages have been raced by Pidcock, and he's gone from Ineos Grenadiers' golden boy to a newcomer at ProTeam Q36.5. 

Yet, with his Giro d'Italia debut now just around the corner, Pidcock's chance at a second taste of that Grand Tour stage success resumes, and looks more likely than ever with a reignited hunger and a newfound consistency at the second division Swiss squad. 

The Brit spoke in November about how he'd lost the enjoyment of racing at the Tour de France, with the prestige and pressure of cycling's biggest race only seeing him struggle, not thrive as he did in 2022. He'd twice been shoehorned into riding for GC, not as the main Ineos leader, but as a second, or even third option behind the likes of Geraint Thomas or Carlos Rodríguez, and failed to live up to the potential he knew was in him.

However, five months after his drawn-out divorce from Ineos and with Q36.5 presenting him an opportunity to ride the Giro, not the Tour, the enjoyment seems to be back, and the question of whether Pidcock will be operating as a stage hunter or chasing a career-best Grand Tour GC finish remains unanswered. 

According to Pidcock's long-term coach and the team's Head of Technical Performance, Kurt Bogaerts, a maiden Giro stage win for Q36.5 will be priority number one, especially on the team's Grand Tour debut, but the Belgian didn't deny they were hoping for a solid overall placing.

"It's the first time we're riding the Giro, so that's already exciting. We have high ambitions. We'll try to win a stage with Tom," Bogaerts told Cyclingnews, one week before the Giro's start. 

"It would definitely be a milestone for him and for the team to win in the Giro, after our first invite, which was already a milestone. If we can win a stage now, that would make it complete and then all the rest is an extra.

"But we have not done a specific altitude camp in function of the GC at the Giro; however, at the same time, we want to develop [Pidcock] and try to be competitive for 21 days, so we will see what it leads to. 

"So it's not been the ultimate preparation for a Grand Tour, but his condition is good, he's not tired after Liège, and definitely in the first part of the Giro, he can do nice things. Maybe on the first mountain stages, he will suffer a bit, but if we can battle through, then I think he can step up."

Thirteenth and 16th at the Tour de France are not overall results to be sniffed at, but they are well away from the highly ambitious goals an Olympic champion and Alpe d'Huez winner would have. But Bogaerts, of course, isn't expecting to change that into a top five or podium overnight – a solid GC run starts with consistency.

"We also just need to be competitive every day. It's a signal that we want to send to his mind and his body, to see what we need to work on if we really target a Grand Tour in the future," continued the Belgian, who's worked with Pidcock since 2018.

"I think this is the most consistent year I've seen from him until Liège, and I see hunger. A lot of hunger in the first part of the season, and he's definitely also finished the Classics still with that hunger, speaking about the Giro immediately after Liège. 

"That's the Tom that I saw in the youth, when he did a similar thing after winning World Championships, already talking about his future goals around the podium. He just really wants to compete, basically."

'Leadership suits Tom, he wants to be responsible for results'

It's a confidence from Bogaerts that had its foundations built in the early season stage races on Q36.5, with Pidcock netting victory overall at the AlUla Tour – his first professional GC win – but also scoring a top three in Valenciana and coming sixth at Tirreno-Adriatico, where Giro d'Italia co-favourite Juan Ayuso won overall.

Bogaerts believes one of the biggest changes for Pidcock has been a mental one, with the clarity of leadership allowing him to focus and place the majority of responsibility on himself to score results, the type of pressure he has used to thrive throughout his off-road successes. 

"Leadership suits Tom. He wants to be responsible for results. He wants to be responsible for his teammates. He wants to be responsible for his team. He wants to be accountable," said Bogaerts, who arrived in Albania for the Giro's start on Tuesday. 

"It's also the clear tactics, and not too complicated strategies, that have made it easier for Tom. He's in a good place and he feels really at home in the team, while also receiving their maximum support.

"That's really encouraging for the future, what we did this year already. Tom is getting more mature, and he's definitely more consistent than in the other years. If you can do the block he did to start the season, then you can definitely be in a good place to make a transition to Giro."

Bogaerts also admitted that he didn't expect to be in quite such a solid position only five months into Pidcock's change of team, with the new consistency he's unlocked in Q36.5's "positive environment" only suggesting that a future as a great GC rider is still possible for the Brit.

"I always try to calculate my decisions, so I was hoping to be in the game in the Classics, but I think we're a little bit ahead of what I was hoping to be," said Bogaerts to Cyclingnews. 

"The team also adapted to us and really shared our vision of hard work and commitment – the two pillars, which work well in combination with a positive environment. It's a challenging environment, and we're trying to make each other better, and I think up to today, we've definitely done that.

"It's also a mental thing for Tom. He's 25, going on 26, and you need to have the mental capacity to be competitive every day. That's definitely something that's so important for Tom, and he needs to be ready and mature for that. 

"Then you can see where the gaps are, and we can try to close them. On paper, I don't see anything in the future that suggests Tom could not be a good Grand Tour GC rider. He has a lot of the physical capabilities, and he should be able to do well if his mind and hunger are in the game."

But what would make a successful Giro d'Italia debut for Pidcock? When asked, Bogaerts reiterated how that first Grand Tour stage win in three years would be the most important thing to achieve, before admitting a personal hope as his coach that the Brit can better his previous top Grand Tour result by eight positions.

"Again, a stage win, I mean, that would be a successful Giro," said the Belgian coach. "Then, yeah, if I really dream, I hope for a top five in GC."

When Pidcock spoke before the team presentation in Tirana on Wednesday, he was less ambitious when it came to the overall ambitions, instead focusing fully on the hunt for a stage win.

"My goal is to win and to just race every day hard, and be there at the front enjoying it," Pidcock told CyclingProNet. "I'm not really interested in the GC, no."

His and his coach's ambitions may not seem aligned, but it should become evident after the stage 2 time trial in Albania's capital and the stage 7 mountain test to Taglicozzo whether Pidcock is hiding his true ambitions and that the GC is still something he's aiming for.

Knowing 'the legs will be there' in Italy

Pidcock, after all, has raced very well in Italy throughout his career, having won the under-23 Giro d'Italia in 2020, racing for Trinity, and been one of the absolute best Strade Bianche performers, as a former winner and top-five finisher in each of his appearances on the Tuscan sterrati. 

"In general, Tom always likes to race in Italy, at Strade and Milan-San Remo. We actually thought the Giro would be his first Grand Tour, before the Tour even," said Bogaerts. 

"We just wanted to make sure we had one Grand Tour this year, in the end, we got two. I think he's at a good age to do two GTs, try to recover well after the Giro and then build good towards the Vuelta and the end-of-season races. 

"Everything is falling into place now, and we'll see how long the condition can last, because I think he's in a growing phase. If I see every race in the Ardennes and we make the transition well now between Liège and the Giro, then it's a good time to do this."

"This is my first Giro d’Italia and I am excited. Racing in Italy is always special, and I’ve got a lot of great memories from racing there," said Pidcock in Q36.5's team announcement. 

"We have a responsibility to show we are worthy of the opportunity. For me personally, I come with high ambitions and with the form I’ve carried from the Ardennes, I know the legs will be there."

He also stressed how the team hadn't been reconing specific stages that Pidcock will target in the months prior. But Bogaerts is confident that his versatility should allow him to compete on punchy, descent or mountaintop finishes, alongside, of course, the ninth stage to Siena, which features five gravel sectors.

"He's very versatile, so there are a lot of stages that suit him. It will come down to the legs; if he has them, he will be in the game a lot," said the Brit's coach. 

"If you can win on Alpe d'Huez, he can definitely do something also in the last week. But that's the nice thing – I think Tom doesn't need to make a balance after the first week, he can make the balance after three weeks, because there are a lot of opportunities."

Entering 'a new chapter' on the road

Pidcock's road season so far in 2025 has seen him take four pro victories, almost doubling his total from four seasons at Ineos, albeit in smaller races, but Bogaerts does believe he's only just coming into his very best in the discipline.

With mountain bike goals achieved until the next Olympic cycle for LA 2028, and cyclocross becoming less of a main focus, the 25-year-old has managed to show his most consistent set of results from February to May yet. Alongside his stage racing form, he was second only to Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche, before again matching well against him and the likes of Remco Evenepoel at the Ardennes, finishing ninth at Amstel and Liège, and third at La Flèche Wallonne.

"I think if you see in Liège, he was able on La Redoute to follow the best in the game. Of course, there is one that is outstanding at the moment, and that is what it is," said Bogaerts. 

"But in Strade he also stayed really long with Tadej, and I think it was a good experience where we can build on and where we know consistently try to improve our team, improve the details, and try to try to strive for excellence – that's the goal."

The Slovenian is the benchmark in today's peloton, as the undisputed best rider in the world and the only man to be comparable with the great Eddy Merckx. That's what Pidcock is aiming for: to be able to beat the world champion. Even without him on the start line of the Giro, Bogaerts made sure to emphasise that point, with a consistent 21-day performance the starting point of that.

When asked if we had seen Pidcock's top potential on the road and when that will arrive, Bogarts said: "I think it's already starting, you know, this is a new chapter. 

"There's definitely more emphasis on the road. Now we will see more of Tom on the road, and the big goal is to beat like a guy like Pogačar one day – because at the moment, that's the highest level in the sport. 

"If you can do that, that's definitely really important. Of course, he's not at the start line in the Giro, but there are other good guys who are at a really high level. So number one, it's about, day in, day out, performing on the road and trying to win races, that's the big goal. We did this during the beginning of the season, it's time to pick that up again."

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