Doug Ryder has a game-changer in Tom Pidcock as Q36.5 gains an identity
'If I started an African team today would it be successful? No. Would people care? Would they? It’s about points and it’s about rankings' says team boss
Signing Tom Pidcock, by Doug Ryder’s very own admission, was a game-changer for Q36.5 Pro Cycling.
After two years of bobbing around the ProTeam ranks, the Swiss team have signed a proven Classics winner and a potential Grand Tour leader. They have a purpose; they have an identity.
The British star not only adds a layer of unprecedented talent to the second-tier roster but has also given Grand Tour organisers in ASO and RCS a genuine reason to consider inviting the team to their races.
In the two years since Q36.5 Pro Cycling’s founding season, zero Grand Tour invites have landed on Ryder’s doormat, and the hope is that Pidcock’s arrival will help Q36.5 not just amass results this season but use the transfer to instil an age of lasting success - a feature not seen on a Ryder team since perhaps the Dimension Data days of 2016, when the team won five Tour de France stages and wore the yellow jersey through Mark Cavendish.
“As a team, we’ve always had big dreams and aspirations and now signing a rider like Tom is a bit of a game-changer for us,” Ryder said at the Q36.5 team press conference on Sunday afternoon.