Q36.5 continue transfer spree with Fred Wright
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team continue to underline their growing ambitions. After celebrating a landmark, WorldTour win at the ADAC Cyclassics Hamburg, the Swiss squad has quickly turned to strengthening its roster. Hot on the heels of Eddie Dunbar’s arrival, the team has secured another major signing with the addition of British rider Fred Wright.
The 26-year-old Londoner leaves Bahrain-Victorious after six seasons to take on a new challenge with Q36.5. “I have been part of this team for my entire career so far and without discrediting them and all the opportunities I had here, it’s time for a new environment after six years,” Wright said. “Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team feels like a good fit for me. I have known Tom [Pidcock] and Mark [Donovan] for a while and the group they are building for the future feels familiar already.”
Fred Wright makes the move to Q36.5 at a moment when his career feels ready to tilt upward. He has been a fixture at the sharp end of the classics this spring, riding into the top ten at both Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix. Just last weekend he pushed on to sixth at the ADAC Cyclassics in Hamburg. Wins have so far eluded him, with the British national title in 2023 still standing as his only professional victory with two grand tour near misses, with 2nd places on stages at the 2022 Tour de France and 2022 Vuelta a España, respectively.
For team manager Doug Ryder, Wright was a clear target. “Fred is an intelligent rider. He reads the races well and is very versatile. He has already achieved top tens in Monuments like Milan-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, and adding a focused classics block to his season will be a big objective for us together. He was close to wins in the Tour de France and Vuelta a España already, and I feel we can offer him the final step to win again. His engine is big and his attacking style is always great to watch. When we were looking for riders to strengthen the classics team, he was quickly on our radar. He turned pro young and still is only 26, so I am really looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in the next three years.”
For Wright, the path to the cobbles began long before he turned professional. “I have always loved races like Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. When I was 13 we travelled to Belgium to do the Flanders sportive with VCL. We watched on the Oude Kwaremont and it was so cool to see Tom Boonen win and feel the spirit of thousands of enthusiastic Belgian fans.”
With Dunbar and Wright joining, Q36.5 have landed two proven leaders who can shape the team’s future across the cobbled classics and stage races alike.
