Innovation Museum: Tom Pidcock Pt.1 • Q36.5

On the eve of the beginning of the classics season with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad we sat down with team leader Tom Pidcock for a chat about what innovation means for him, from mental health to choosing winter training clothing and trusting in one’s own insticts.

What is your first memory of making an important upgrade to your equipment as an elite athlete? Could you immediately “feel the difference”?

I remember when I finally managed to pursue my dad to allow me to race on his carbon wheels. Not only did they feel good but as importantly they looked awesome!

Could you explain your attitude to choosing equipment for training and racing? Do you have a specific philosophy or a specific (even unusual) set of criteria that you like your equipment to fulfill?

For me the way to choose equipment is to think or reason back from the end goal. Do I need to stay warm and dry? For off-road it’s important whether I need muddy tyres or gears and which clothing? When the racing is fast, I need aero.

Do you have a specific protocol for testing the equipment you use?

No, I don’t but I trust my own knowledge in being able to feel the difference. I trust I know when something is suitable or not and how it can be improved.

Are there any technologies/innovations that you feel you were the pioneer or early adopter of in the peloton?

I’m not someone who is obsessive about technology. I like to focus more on other things like my physical shape, knowledge of the race and my mental well-being.

What are the three key characteristics you look for in your equipment (bike and apparel)?

Quality, style and weight.

What do you consider, in order of priority, to be the most important elements of preparation to achieve a performance goal beyond riding your bike? i.e. is Nutrition first? Rest? Mental wellbeing? Etc.

Mental well-being is the most important because you can only get the maximum from every aspect if your head is in the right place. It gives you that extra mental strength to go further, deeper and get through the tough days.

How did you first hear about Q36.5?

I have been using the Q36.5 chamois for a long time already, so I heard about them a while ago when they offered to help me with them.

What was the first Q36.5 garment you tried? How would you describe it? Could you “feel the difference”?

That was the shorts, and it was a good start because I think it’s the best product Q36.5 make. Since using their shorts, I haven’t had any problems with saddle sores or chaffing.

What Q36.5 equipment are you using this season for training and racing? Could you please talk us through a few of your favourite items? We are particularly interested in the unexpected favourites, the little details or items that one falls in love with.

The full winter suit [Thermobolik] is super for cold days, It’s really a game changer in the colder and wetter months.

The [Woolf] leg and armwarmers warmers are a really nice product that I have been using a lot recently.

Do you have a technological “mentor”? Somebody with an extra special equipment knowledge who tutors you to be smarter about what equipment you use, clothing you wear, food you eat? What is the most important lesson you received from this mentor?

I don’t have a mentor, but I have myself. I’m good at looking and learning and know what is good or bad.

Gregarius Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Jersey

Color: 2025 | Size: M

For 2025 our Official Research Scientists will be using the Q36.5 Gregarius Jersey, combining 4 proprietary fabrics with advanced body-mapping to offer the highest-performing balance of aerodynamics, comfort and thermoregulation in the peloton. As with all Q36.5 products, it is our ability to intelligently combine deep research into all three of these areas into a single, highly-versatile, jersey that offers the rider the true performance advantage across an incredibly wide range of temperatures, weather conditions and riding intensities.

CHF 143.00

Dottore PRO Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Bib Shorts Racing Black

Color: Racing Black | Size: M

To wear a pair of Dottore bib shorts is to feel the difference from the very first pedal stroke, as though guided by an invisible mentor: compact, supported and aligned muscle fibers, total comfort and control of the bicycle and your pedaling action. For 2025 we are offering this iconic product that employs apparel technologies whose use in cycling was pionnered by Q36.5, to our athletes for the very first time.

Variants from CHF 275.00

CHF 308.00

Gregarius Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Bib Shorts Black.

Color: Black. | Size: M

Totally redesigned from the ground up with 100% proprietary components, the Gregarius Pros have been engineered to provide the rider with the most free, unrestricted and “not-even-there” on-bike feeling without any compromise to the ultimate comfort and ergogenic support that is our signature. This uniquely unrestricted feeling of the Gregarius Pro is the result of the fusion of a new ergogenic pattern (4 different fabrics, minimal stitching) with our revolutionary new adaptive chamois pad, that employs single layer cover fabric without lamination or foam for fastest drying and breathability. The high density open cell-foam C-shaped pad underneath the cover fabric is inserted directly into the pattern of the shorts rather than being sewn, creating a single plane from straps to groin, offering noticeably superior stability and comfort for the rider.

CHF 242.00

Gregarius Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Vest

Color: 2025 | Size: M

Specifically developed for the Official Research Scientists of Q36.5 Pro Cycling, the Gregarius Hybrid vest is an intensely versatile piece of equipment. At the heart of the vest’s performance is a proprietary high-density knitted fabric that achieves a windproofness equivalent to fabrics with membranes whilst maintaining a high level of breathability and efficient wicking. This means that, for example, the vest is able to continue to actively wick moisture away from your jersey during a descent whilst offering cosy wind protection. The inherent intelligence of our proprietary fabric is augmented by a new body-mapped pattern based on wind-tunnel analysis of the flow of cool around the body.

CHF 198.00

Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Cap 2025 White

Color: White | Size: ONESIZE

The Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Cap uses an ultra-lightweight polyester material together with a unique vent system to enhance the thermoregulating properties of this essential item. Exclusive to the team edition is the introduction of our Official Research Scientist radar graphic which embodies the feeling of preparedness and focus that Q36.5 equipment offers in the face of extreme conditions and adventures.

CHF 44.00

All stories