'I can just enjoy riding my bike again' - Tom Pidcock is revived and ready to chase victory at the Vuelta a España with Q36.5 Pro Cycling

"It has completely revitalised me." Tom Pidcock flashes a broad smile in the early June sunshine streaming through the window of Red Bull's Athlete Performance Centre near Salzburg, Austria. He's reflecting on his transfer to Q36.5 at the end of last season - a move that seems to have breathed new life into the 26-year-old.

Moments earlier, he made it clear he doesn't want to dwell on the past - and who can blame him? His final months with Ineos Grenadiers were mired by a well-documented tension. But now, comfortably settled in new surroundings, Pidcock looks relaxed, recharged and ready to take on his next major target, the Vuelta a España.

"Coming here was a fresh start, that I really needed after all that," he says, referring to the strained period at Ineos.

"I can just be myself again, as there's no hassle here [at Q36.5]. I can just enjoy riding my bike again."

This laidback chat in Austria is a far cry from our last meeting in the pressurised cauldron of Florence, Italy, on the eve of the 2024 Tour de France. Back then, Pidcock appeared tense and uneasy as he faced a torrent of questions from reporters about frictions depicted in the Netflix series, Tour de France Unchained. Speculation was rife that he had played a part in the team's former lead DS Steve Cummings's being mysteriously sidelined from the race by Ineos. At the race's team presentation, Cycling Weekly asked Pidcock directly about the matter. He answered candidly, saying he believed Ineos would be "better" without Cummings - a response that all but confirmed his role in the DS's removal.

Whispers of Pidcock looking for a way out began to emerge shortly afterwards, as rumours of disharmony at Ineos took hold. He made his unhappiness clear, repeatedly hinting to the media that problems were brewing - a "number of things" behind the scenes meant he could not "perform optimally", he told Het Laatste Nieuws during the Tour of Britain. The crunch moment appeared to have come when he was deselected for Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the season.

He would never again pull on an Ineos jersey. Almost 10 months later, Pidcock says he still doesn't know why he was withdrawn from the Italian Classic. Even so, he insists that he harbours no resentment towards his former colleagues. "Fair play to them," he says by way of peace-making. "They've really turned it around lately. The way they're racing is quite ambitious, and it's nice to see that there's finally a bit more positivity and happiness around there again."

With the turbulence of the autumn behind him, Pidcock hit the ground running in his first races as a Q36.5 rider: he won the AlUla Tour in late January; finished second at Strade Bianche; sixth at Tirreno-Adriatico; and third at La Flèche Wallonne in a set of promising early-season results.

"I put in so much effort and mental energy to make sure that I started well here," he explains, emphasising his determination to repay the faith shown in him by his new paymasters. His only regret is that a crash at Milan-San Remo meant that he missed the winning move on the Cipressa.

"It took me a bit of time to get over that mentally," he says. "I knew I was in such good shape, I was confident that I could have been with those guys over the top of the climb and onto the Poggio, for sure."

Pidcock has never been one to hide how he feels - and he's refreshingly candid about his struggles to move on from setbacks. "When I have some success, I just get more and more motivated. But when something bad happens, I tend to sulk; it takes me a while to get over it. I'm not the sort of person that gets motivation from shit situations."

I later raised this trait with Pidcock's father, Giles, who suggests it was exacerbated by Tom's experience at Ineos. "Apart from winning the Tour, there was nothing that Tom could have ever done at Ineos which would have got any praise out of anyone," says Pidcock senior. "What's the difference at Q36.5? "Now, when he achieves something, it's brilliant for the new team, they love it and they make that clear to him." In Giles's view, Tom is no longer just a number in a system but recognised as an individual - and the result is an uplift in confidence.

Despite a packed spring spent deep in the Classics, Pidcock says the confidence placed in him at Q36.5 allowed him to arrive at the Giro d'Italia primed to perform - even if he felt slightly underprepared. "It was definitely the strongest Grand Tour that I've ever done," he says. "I was consistent, I recovered well and I felt strong every day, so I was pretty happy with everything."

The biggest takeaway, he says, was learning to adapt to the sustained efforts demanded by the Giro's mammoth climbs. "That experience has made me a stronger bike rider," he adds, "and will help me win big races."

Pidcock's biggest road win to date remains his Alpe d'Huez triumph in the 2022 Tour de France. As a ProTeam outfit, Q36.5 rely on getting a wildcard invitation to the Tour, which this year didn't arrive. Did Pidcock miss being present at the world's biggest race? Not especially, according to his long-time coach Kurt Bogaerts. "Seeing how the Tour was ridden by some riders was especially motivating for Tom," he says. "I think seeing how guys like Ben Healy and Oscar Onley rode was amazing, and gave him a lot to think about."

The move to a second-tier team has further downsides beyond the lack of invites to top-tier races. First and foremost, Pidcock is no longer surrounded by high-calibre supporting riders. Q36.5 are in the process of strengthening their squad, with Britain's Fred Wright joining the team from Bahrain Victorious, but the firepower will remain a long way short of Ineos's. In terms of personal cost, it is unclear if the move represents a financial downgrade for Pidcock, who was reported to have earned more than £3m per year at Ineos - a figure possibly beyond Q36.5's budget. Despite the deep pockets of their billionaire backer Ivan Glasenberg. On the flipside, Pidcock is now very much the main man of the team - an enhancement in status that may suit him.

Bogaerts explains that Pidcock will approach the Vuelta with an opportunistic mindset. "Tom just wants to do a solid race in Spain and take opportunities where he can," he says. "Being consistently with the better riders, that would be a great step forward for us." Pidcock agrees - but not with the aim of being a breakaway specialist. His goal is to stay with the GC contenders deep into tough stages, and make moves when others begin to fade. "The way I'll have the most success in a Grand Tour is being strong enough to win from the front group, that's just how I see it," he says.

Could an even bigger step forward be challenging for overall victory at the Vuelta? Ever since Pidcock burst onto the pro scene, speculation about his Grand Tour potential has followed him, even as those around him have tried to temper expectations. With standout results across all three major cycling disciplines - including two Olympic mountain bike titles - the idea isn't far-fetched. But does Pidcock still carry that ambition?

"If I can ever get on the podium, or if I win one, then it would be the biggest achievement of my career," he says firmly. "For me to work so hard in training and then translate that into a three-week race would be a bigger challenge, so it would be bigger than winning at the Olympics."

Only a handful of riders stand between Pidcock and Grand Tour contenders - chief among them, Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian may have bested him at Strade Bianche in March, but not before Pidcock demonstrated superior ability to stay out of trouble on the gravel. How can the Yorkshireman convert one-day brilliance into three-week consistency and reshape himself as a true Grand Tour threat? Durability is being developed through increased gym work, explains Bogaerts. “We added some more strength work this year and we’ve really noticed its benefit to Tom. It’s also helped us prevent injuries, and I think we’re in a really good place now, ahead of the Vuelta.”

There is confidence that the newer, stronger Pidcock is ready for the fight in Spain. The question of how he will fare against Pogačar will have to wait a little longer. In the aftermath of claiming his fourth Tour title, the Slovenian withdrew from the Vuelta citing fatigue. “It didn’t really matter [to our preparation] if he was going to be there or not,” says Bogaerts. “We hadn’t really thought about it. The same goes for [Jonas] Vingegaard. You just concentrate on yourself, always – we know we have prepared well for this and what’s coming afterwards.”

Pidcock’s next showdown with Pogačar is likely to come at the road World Championships in Rwanda, in September, provided he gets through the Vuelta unscathed. Bogaerts is unequivocal: the trip to east Africa won’t be for sightseeing, but for a shot at the rainbow jersey Pogačar claimed in Zurich last year. “A rider’s career isn’t endless,” he says. “Every year you skip a Worlds is an opportunity missed. In an ideal world, if we stick to the plan and Tom recovers well after the Vuelta, then it’s definitely within his capabilities to go there and compete.”

Within Pidcock's camp, there's quiet confidence that he's closing the gap on the sport's very best - even if Tadej Pogačar, with his extraordinary all-round capabilities, remains a level above for now. In truth, few would claim Pidcock is not in the Slovenian's league across a full Grand Tour. But in certain areas - technical descending, dealing with loose surfaces - he may already have the upper hand. More importantly, since stepping away from the more rigid structures of his former team, Pidcock seems to have rediscovered the joy that first fuelled his rise. And with that joy, his family believes, comes the freedom to aim higher. "Whether he can go on and beat Pogačar remains to be seen," says his dad Giles, "but I think he will definitely be able to close the gap - that's for sure."