Race news
Tom Pidcock struggles on return to training: ‘Man, I hate being unfit’
Tom Pidcock is back on the bike, but the first rides of his winter training have proved uncomfortable. After a short break from cycling, the British star has returned to Andorra and discovered just how unpleasant the road back to full fitness can be.
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“Back in lovely Andorra,” Pidcock said in a video posted on Instagram, visibly struggling to catch his breath. “Man, I hate being unfit.”
The 27-year-old was clearly not enjoying the effort, although he could still see the funny side of his situation.
“No wonder everyone thinks that cycling is hard, if this is what it's like to be unfit on a bike,” he added, before finishing with a breathless “Lovely.”
Pidcock had been racing until October 18, ending his season at the Tour of Guangxi, the final event on the 2026 UCI WorldTour calendar, with second place on both the final stage and the overall classification.
His 2026 campaign brought victories at Milano-Torino, the Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica and the GP Industria & Artigianato, along with stage wins at the Vuelta a Andalucía and Tour of the Alps. He also came within just four centimetres of beating Tadej Pogačar at Milano-Sanremo and finished ninth overall at the Tour de France.
There was another world title on the mountain bike in August, before Pidcock enjoyed a particularly strong autumn on the road. He finished seventh at the Road World Championships in Montréal, runner-up at both the Giro dell'Emilia and Tre Valli Varesine, and sixth at Il Lombardia. He ended the year fifth in the UCI individual rankings, his highest year-end position to date.
Pidcock set for a much stronger team in 2027
The British rider will return to a very different Pinarello-Q36.5 team next season.
The Swiss ProTeam have been among the most ambitious teams on the transfer market, signing a host of established WorldTour riders as they look to close the gap to cycling's biggest squads.
The biggest addition is Giulio Ciccone, who arrives from Lidl-Trek and provides the team with another proven climbing leader alongside Pidcock. Having two ambitious riders capable of targeting many of the same races might appear a potential source of tension, but sports director Gabriele Missaglia sees things differently.
“I’d rather have two spirited riders than one,” Missaglia told BiciPro, arguing that sharing leadership could ease the pressure on both riders and give the team more tactical options. Depending on the race, either Pidcock or Ciccone could take on a supporting role, with Missaglia confident that the arrangement will work.
Mauro Schmid is another significant addition. The Swiss national champion enjoyed a breakthrough 2026 campaign, including a stage victory at the Tour de France, and will strengthen the team's options across both stage races and one-day events.
British time trial specialist Ethan Hayter has also signed, while talented American AJ August, Czech sprinter Pavel Bittner and experienced Italian Davide Ballerini are among the other notable arrivals.
Swiss national champion and Tour de France stage winner Mauro Schmid is another major signing, while British time trial specialist Ethan Hayter brings further versatility.
Promising American AJ August, Czech sprinter Pavel Bittner and experienced Classics rider Davide Ballerini are also among the arrivals, giving the squad significantly more options across different types of races.
One rider who will no longer be part of the team, however, is Pidcock's younger brother Joe, who has retired from professional cycling.
The reinforcements come after Pinarello-Q36.5 finished 12th in the 2026 UCI team rankings, ahead of several WorldTour outfits. That puts the Swiss squad in a promising position in the battle for a WorldTour licence in 2029, decided by results across the 2026–2028 three-year ranking cycle.
