Tom Pidcock returns to Pinarello: this is how the new Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is born

Although it had already been leaked a few weeks ago with the list of World Tour teams registered for the upcoming season, the brand and the team have now made it official. Pinarello will be the main sponsor and official bicycle supplier for the now sports project of Q36.5. The alliance represents a profound change in the team's identity, which will be renamed Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, and also marks the return of Tom Pidcock to the Italian brand's road bikes.

Pinarello becomes the main sponsor and bicycle supplier for Q36.5 in 2026, with Pidcock as the key figure of the new project

The arrival of Pinarello was an expected step within the peloton, considering that the owner of the brand, Ivan Glasenberg, is one of the major investors in the Q36.5 project. With the agreement already signed, the Swiss structure abandons the Scott bikes used last year and fully adopts the models from the Treviso house.

For Pidcock, the undisputed leader of the team, the alliance has an emotional component. The Brit had already competed with Pinarello bikes in cyclocross, MTB, and gravel, and had maintained the relationship even after leaving Ineos Grenadiers. “I am really happy to return to Pinarello full-time. Honestly, it feels like coming home. I have always loved riding their bikes, and over the years, I have built a very strong relationship with the brand. It is the perfect union,” commented the rider, who highlights the affinity built with the brand over the years.

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The agreement marks a milestone for the Italian brand, which has not acted as the title sponsor of a professional team since 2008, when it supported Pinarello Racing. Now, Pinarello takes a step forward with a structural role within an aspiring WorldTour project and reinforces its presence in the professional peloton.

“This agreement is not just a matter of image; it is a shared vision,” pointed out Fausto Pinarello, president of the company. The executive emphasizes that the goal is to place the brand's name “back at the forefront of the peloton” and to do so within a structure that shares its technological and competitive approach.

Additionally, the Italian brand will continue to supply bicycles to Ineos Grenadiers, with whom it recently renewed for three more seasons. In 2026, Pinarello will thus equip two reference professional teams.

From Q36.5, the arrival of Pinarello is seen as a decisive step in the evolution of the team. Its CEO and co-founder, Luigi Bergamo, highlighted that 2026 will be “another big leap forward” for the structure: young riders reaching competitive maturity, high-level signings, and a Grand Tour podium already achieved are part of the recent growth.

Bergamo emphasized that the incorporation of Pinarello will help to “elevate the project even further” and that the team's goals for 2026 are “ambitious to the maximum.”