Swiss team Q36.5 seems set to compete next year under the name Pinarello-Q36.5. The team led by captain Tom Pidcock has submitted an application for a WorldTour license for the upcoming three-year period under this name. This is evident from the provisional list of license applications published by the UCI on Monday evening.
That Pinarello will partner with Q36.5 comes as no surprise. Fausto Pinarello, chairman of the Italian bike brand, already hinted at the collaboration earlier this month. “We are going to double down,” he said during the announcement of the contract extension between Pinarello and INEOS Grenadiers.
The ties between the ProTeam and the bike brand are also close. For example, the team’s leader, Tom Pidcock, still rides a Pinarello bike in gravel and mountain bike races after leaving INEOS Grenadiers, and Ivan Glasenberg, owner of the bike brand, is a key investor in the apparel brand Q36.5.
WorldTour license
The fact that Pinarello-Q36.5 has applied for a WorldTour license and submitted the necessary documents does not yet guarantee that the Swiss ProTeam will make the step up. They are not among the top 18 teams on the UCI ranking, so it depends on an available extra WorldTour spot.
Since Intermarché-Wanty has not applied and seems to be merging with Lotto, an extra spot will open up, but that place would then go to UNO-X Mobility due to their higher position on the UCI ranking. The Scandinavian squad has also registered for a WorldTour license.
