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It looks like Tom Pidcock isn’t going anywhere, after all.
Pidcock was spotted at an Ineos Grenadiers team gathering this weekend in what appears to be definitive confirmation he won’t be switching to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Q36.5, Tudor, or any other suitor.
It’s a sighting that ends the juiciest soap opera of the season.
News wires have been buzzing about a fallout between Ineos Grenadiers and the multi-discipline Brit since as far back as the Tour de France this summer.
Pidcock never publically spoke of trouble on the team bus. Yet chatter from within the squad’s inner circle indicated a widening rift between management and its marquee star.
Not even the Remco Evenepoel contract rumors were as intriguing.
Speculation ends at a soccer match
Images circulating Monday on social media show Pidcock with Ineos teammates on a visit to Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium.
The Manchester club is part of Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos sporting empire, and a project in which Dave Brailsford, the Godfather of Team Sky / Ineos, is closely involved. The team that day was playing former Premier League rival Chelsea.
An Ineos Grenadiers representative confirmed to Velo on Monday the Manchester meet was part of a full-team, pre-season camp.
It’s a ritual get-together of medical testing, year-end reviews, and forward planning.
Pidcock’s appearance at the full-team affaire is the first known contact he’s had with management since he was controversially “deselected” by Ineos Grenadiers on the eve of Il Lombardia.
Ineos Grenadiers’ shock move last month ahead of the Italian classic was revealed by Cyclingnews to be a “management decision.”
Some believed it could mark the burning of the final bridge between Pidcock and his long-time team.
Yet despite reports that rising Swiss team Q36.5 was only a signature away from snaffling Pidcock for themselves, Ineos Grenadiers always reaffirmed the Brit was signed through 2027.
It now seems that Pidcock’s multi-million contract with his flailing “super team” will survive one more season at least.
‘He’s not happy, the team’s not happy’
Latest rift between Tom Pidcock and Ineos Grenadiers raises fresh questions about his future on the teamhttps://t.co/kTgRVVf9q1
— Velo (@velovelovelo__) October 15, 2024
What next?
How Pidcock and his team will navigate through the minefield of the past few months is unclear.
The two-time Olympian and winner of Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold is the nucleus of Ineos Grenadiers’ short-term ambition.
Ineos Grenadiers already has a busy off-season ahead as it looks to rebound from its worst season yet.
It recently made a total restructure of its staffing set-up in the quest to keep competitive with the growing dominance of UAE Emirates, Visma-Lease a Bike, and the rising Red Bull team.
Pidcock’s continuation with the team is likely a problem Ineos Grenadiers is very happy to have.
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