On paper, stage one of this year’s Giro d’Italia has Tom Pidcock written all over it. The Grande Partenza — which begins on Friday in Durrës in Albania — is flat for 67 kilometres and then hilly for a further 93km. There is a punchy final climb at Surrel, with a maximum 13 per cent gradient, and then a 12km descent into the capital, Tirana. Will we see Pidcock in pink on Friday? Quite possibly.
Not that it will be easy. The other obvious contenders for the stage are Mads Pedersen — who had an impressive and slightly unlucky spring — and Wout van Aert. The Belgian’s sudden lack of a sprint this season (and the time he’s spent recovering from injuries at altitude this winter) suggests his focus has perhaps changed this year from the classics to the stage races.
Van Aert is an established leader in his team and will be able to use that dynamic to his advantage. Pedersen, too, is vastly experienced at grand tours, but his team, Lidl-Trek, are also targeting the general classification with Giulio Ciccone. Pidcock, after changing teams at the beginning of this year, will be looking to prove that Ineos Grenadiers underestimated him, that he can in fact be the sole leader of a team and elevate that team into the higher ranks of cycling.
While both Pidcock and Ineos have said the falling-out between them was overplayed, scenes in the Netflix series Unchained in 2023, suggested a different story: a frustrated Pidcock arguing with the Ineos director of racing, Steve Cummings, about his role in the team at the Tour de France. Pidcock had lost some time and was asked to step back from a co-leader role to support team-mate Carlos Rodríguez. Pidcock was not happy.
The Swiss team Q36.5 is a better match for Pidcock in many ways. It is a smaller outfit with solid financial backing, a desire to win races and a little flair to boot. They may lack the depth of riders at present, but they are strengthening their team little by little. They’ve made no secret that Pidcock is key to this. So much so that their YouTube series is called TOM (Team on Mission).
Pidcock has since looked like a rider reborn, winning the AlUla Tour (including two stages) in January and taking the fight to Tadej Pogacar at Strade Bianche in March. He was on the podium at La Flèche Wallonne and looked punchy at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he took ninth.
The early season (including wins for team-mate Matteo Moschetti) earned Q36.5 a wild card invite to their first ever grand tour: the Giro d’Italia. And it’s a perfect match. The Corsa Rosa is the race where the plucky underdog can take a big win, where the weather always threatens to upend everything and a surprise winner is constantly lurking. With Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel opting to sit this one out, this Giro is a mouthwatering proposition for all — especially Pidcock and Q36.5.
But the truth is, this is Pidcock’s first true opportunity to prove he can lead Q36.5. It is his first Giro and the Italian race is one that seems a good match for his all-or-nothing style. He may not be aiming for anything more than a top 10 in the general classification, but there will be plenty of other options for him and the team as they target stage wins.
The grand tours are where teams can really make the (relatively) big bucks. There are 21 racing days, 21 victories up for grabs, lots of screen-time for sponsors and all-important UCI ranking points, with which ProTeams such as Q36.5 can earn promotion to the 18-team World Tour and an automatic place to all of the most significant races, including the grand tours.
When Mathieu van der Poel burst on to the scene with Alpecin-Deceuninck (then Alpecin-Fenix) in 2020 the outfit were a second-division Pro Team that had mostly raced in cyclocross. By 2023 they had risen to a first-division World Tour team. It was a rise built around one man, Van der Poel. Now they are one of the dominant forces in cycling.
Pidcock will be hoping to do the same: take a Pro Team, build it in his image, and move up the ranks. Q36.5 are 24th at present in the rankings, which run over three seasons, a fair distance from the top 18, where they would need to finish to win promotion. But the Giro is a first shot to collect some serious points. A first place in a stage will award 180 points, plus an extra 20 for every day in the Maglia Rosa leader’s jersey. There are also points up for grabs in the points and mountains standings — and, of course, the general classification, where a first place will grant you 850 points, second 680, third 575, with points all the way down to 60th place.
Pidcock wanted to lead a team and he’s got his wish. But he needs to prove that Ineos were wrong to overlook him and Q36.5 were right. He has shown flashes of brilliance: who can forget his tremendous win on the dusty roads of Strade Bianche in 2023 or his win up Alpe d’Huez in 2022? But he has a habit of not showing up when he’s expected to. Over 21 stages he’ll have to turn up every single day and prove he’s a winner and a leader, support his team-mates when they need it and take control when opportunities present themselves.
When the peloton sets off from Durrës, past the Roman amphitheatre and out into the countryside, Pidcock’s eyes must surely be on pink. It could be a day for the breakaway and he has to be smart; there are plenty of others ready to snatch that first Pink Jersey, but Pidcock knows how to race and he certainly knows how to descend and, perhaps more importantly, he’s hungrier than ever.
“This is my first Giro d’Italia and I am excited,” said Pidcock. “Racing in Italy is always special, and I’ve got a lot of great memories from racing there. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us as a team and we have a responsibility to show we are worthy of that opportunity. I believe the whole team is going with a mission to show ourselves as Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.
“For me personally, I come with high ambitions and with the form I’ve carried from the Ardennes [he was third in La Flèche Wallonne] I know the legs will be there. Of course, there are many opportunities, but we are going to plan well and pick our moments.”
Giro d’Italia
Stage one Durrës to Tiranë
Friday, midday
TV TNT Sports and Discovery+
Highlights Quest, 7pm
