'The switch has been pretty seamless' - Tom Gloag on reuniting with Tom Pidcock and Fred Wright at Pinarello-Q36.5

One of the biggest movers in the transfer market ahead of the 2026 season was Pinarello-Q36.5. Naturally, as a second division team and after enjoying a successful 2025 season with marquee signing Tom Pidcock, the team would be looking to bolster the strength of their squad as they continue their rise through the sport.

Among the ten new arrivals is 24-year-old British rider Tom Gloag, who was a stagiaire with Jumbo-Visma in 2022, before joining the Dutch WorldTour team full-time for 2023. 

After a career-threatening collision with a car during training in 2023, which kept the British rider from racing for a significant period, 2025 saw plenty of positive results. Results such as an 8th place finish at the Tour Down Under, 3rd at the Tour de Slovaquie, and 2nd on the Queen stage of the Tour of Britain behind Remco Evenepoel.

Speaking to Domestique ahead of the start of the opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve, Gloag opened up about his early days with the team, and his first race of the season, where he finished 10th at the Figueira Champions Classic, but crucially made the selective split in the finale.

“I’ve had a really nice time so far. I’ve not done many one-day races the last few years, so it was really nice to give that a stab the other day, and yeah, the legs were good, and I’m looking forward to racing here,” Gloag told Domestique. 

Gloag and Pidcock both shared a similar experience of crashing out of the Tour de L’Avenir whilst at the sharp end of the general classification racing for Great Britain.

When Pidcock won the baby Giro for Trinity back in 2020, Gloag was a valuable member of the winning Trinity team. Linking up with the British star, as well as Fred Wright who he rode for the same club with in their early days, plus a core of familiar British riders, has helped Gloag’s transition.

“I knew Tom [Pidcock] from Trinity in 2020, and Fred [Wright] I grew up riding with in London, and actually, like Joe [Pidcock], Mark [Donovan] I also knew as well, so yeah, the switch has been pretty seamless, and it’s really nice,” said Gloag.

“We’ve got a really nice group of guys also here as well, really good talk around the dinner table and yeah, a super relaxed atmosphere.”

After the positive sign of early season form at the Figueira Champions Classic, Gloag is open about his prospects for the Volta ao Algarve, but is motivated to test his GC legs. “Yeah, hopefully, but it just depends on how fast I ride, really. But I’m looking forward to giving it a good crack, and we’ll see what happens.”

The Pinarello-Q36.5 team at the Portuguese stage race also features Italian sprinter Matteo Moschetti, who has come close to victory at the AlUla Tour, Etoile de Bessèges, and the Clasica de Almeria. 

For Gloag, the second stage on Thursday that finishes atop the well-recognised Alto da Fóia, but from a different route in previous years, will be a good test for the British rider to measure his climbing legs. 

"Stage two really stands out for me, like it’s maybe a sprint on top of the climb, and in the last few years I’ve got a couple of results in that kind of way, so hopefully I can give that a go,” said Gloag when asked which stage stood out to him. 

“Always with the first few races, you never quite know what’s going to happen, and it’s a super high level here. So it will be a tough week and competitive, but we will give it a go.”