'Easy environment to settle into' - Fred Wright talks joining ambitious Q36.5 project

Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) spoke to Domestique about his confirmed move to Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, and reflected on his final Tour de France for Bahrain-Victorious while competing on home roads at the Tour of Britain, where the former British champion is looking to 'light to race up' alongside his teammates.

It marks a big moment in the career of the 26-year-old, who has spent his entire professional journey with Bahrain-Victorious since 2020. Wright himself acknowledged the significance of the change in his career, having only known one way of life since turning professional.

"I'm really excited to be part of that trajectory, I think. It's going to be nice, I'm a little bit nervous coming to a new environment, but those nerves are going to serve as a bit of improvement, so it should be good," Wright told Domestique at the start of stage 4 in Atherstone as he gears up to link with Tom Pidcock at the Swiss team.

Q36.5 have certainly signalled their ambitions to grow their stature within the current peloton, announcing several high-profile signings including Eddie Dunbar, Chris Harper, Brent Van Moer, Quinten Hermans and Xandro Meurisse, with more riders rumoured to be joining. 

Wright anticipates a smooth transition into his new team after his lengthy spell in the colours of Bahrain-Victorious. "I think it will be an easy environment to settle into," he said, noting the presence of familiar faces and the number of English speakers.

Despite the change in teams, and moving to a pro-continental level team, the 26-year-old doesn’t anticipate a major shift in his racing objectives, though hopes that he may be able to unlock the winning formula, as a rider who is always up there in the biggest of races, but doesn’t often get to celebrate a win, the national championships in 2023, his sole victory.

"No, I think it will kind of be a similar story, but I'm looking forward to doing some newer races, maybe some smaller races, and get my hands in the air, that would be nice."

Before the move to Q36.5, Wright still has some ambitions for the remainder of the season with his Bahrain-Victorious team at the Tour of Britain, with a hilly finale on stage 4 that should suit the team well. The team has a good recent history in Britain, having won the final stage twelve months ago in a sprint with Matevž Govekar.

"Yeah, I think it's a nice punchy final. We've got a few cards to play, so we're going to try to light the race up, so it should be fun," he explained.

Wright also reflected on his final Tour de France with the team. He compared humorously to his juggling skills that were seen outside the team bus during the race in July. The team's best stage results at La Grande Boucle were 3rd place finishes by Santiago Buitrago, Phil Bauhaus and Matej Mohorič. 

Meanwhile, Lenny Martinez ended 3rd in the mountains classification, having worn the polka-dot jersey for several stages. For Wright, 7th place from the breakaway on stage 11 was the best result after another combative edition for the British rider, but the Brit was honest in his assessment, admitting he was hoping for more.

"A bit as good as my juggling, kind of average. No, it was a nice three weeks with the guys, but we didn't quite get what we were after, a slightly frustrating Tour, but that's the way it goes sometimes," he admitted.