'Everything is possible' - Q36.5 confirm Pidcock and Bennett could both ride the Tour de France in 2026

Pinarello-Q36.5 Sports Director Kurt Bogaerts believes that new signing Sam Bennett and team leader Tom Pidcock can coexist in the same team at Grand Tours, including potentially the Tour de France next summer. 

"For sure. I think everything is possible," Bogaerts told Stickybottle when asked if both riders could feature together in selection for races such as the Tour. "We see how we handled the Vuelta. I think that worked well for Tom and for the other guys. We were not solely focused on the GC or on Tom."

The Belgian's comments come after Bennett signed a one-year deal with the Swiss-registered ProTeam, reuniting with Bogaerts, who previously worked with the sprinter during his time at An Post Sean Kelly team. The assurance is significant for Bennett, who won two stages and the points classification in the 2020 edition, but has only raced the Tour once since.

The 35-year-old sprinter brings considerable firepower to Q36.5, with 71 career victories including 10 Grand Tour stage wins and the aforementioned points classification at the 2020 Tour de France, and his arrival helps fill the sprint void created by the retirement of Giacomo Nizzolo.

"It's fantastic to be joining Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team next season," Bennett said previously in a team statement. "My career was launched by Kurt Bogaerts, so it feels as if I've taken a winding path home."

Bogaerts explained how the team's multi-versed approach worked successfully at this year's Vuelta a España, where Pidcock secured third place overall, the first Grand Tour podium of his career.

"In the Vuelta we went for the sprints on a regular basis with several guys, and we were sprinting top 10. We were going into breakaways. And we didn't lose one spot in the GC," he said.

Bogaerts believes having a sprinter actually enhances the squad's focus from day to day across a three-week stage race, as it gives the riders something different to aim for each stage. 

"What is nice when you have a sprinter is that you have ambition every day. You have focus every day; it's not just concentrating on not losing time. I think it's a healthy, ambitious focus on a daily basis, that you can have daily goals for different individuals."

Bennett will join fellow Irishman Dunbar on the team's 2026 roster as Q36.5 builds on momentum following Pidcock's podium finish at the Vuelta, with the team. The team will be hoping that this, combined with further signings such as Fred Wright, Quinten Hermans, and Giro d’Italia stage winner Chris Harper, will be enough to kick on and reach even greater heights after a successful 2025 season.