Double Olympic mountain bike champion Tom Pidcock won Saudi Arabia's Al-Ula Tour on Saturday in his first race since joining the Q36.5 team.
Pidcock quit Ineos in the close season in an eyebrow-raising switch to the ambitious but second tier outfit and the Yorkshireman and the Swiss team have both reaped instant benefits.
"I did it at junior level but never at elite," said the 25-year-old after the five-day race, describing it as a career breakthrough.
"We won as a team. I know it's only a five day race but we didn't even know each other until December," said the sprightly Pidcock who was disaffected in his time with British outfit Ineos despite winning a Tour de France stage at the iconic Alpe d'Huez.
🐪🏆 Saudi Arabia suits @tompidcock well!
— طواف العلا | ALULATOUR (@thealulatour) February 1, 2025
See you next year Tom?#AlUlaTour 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/IEd9KQEr2o
The diminutive allrounder wore traditional Saudi men's headgear known as keffiyeh on the podium after camel racers had accompanied part of the bike race that started and ended at a camel racing centre.
Pidcock took the lead on stage two attacking on a steep slope and easing away from his rivals.
He won again on stage four to extend that lead and was little troubled defending his jersey on the final flat run.
Pidcock also won the Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold one-day classics in 2023 and 2024 and defended his mountain bike Olympic gold at the Paris Games in July.
The fifth stage itself was also won by a Q36.5 rider as the Italian Matteo Moschetti outsprinted Dutch speedster Dylan Groenewegen.
Moschetti was knocked down by a truck in Milan last year and helicoptered to hospital with fractures to his spine.
🌬 Crosswinds, echelons, a thrilling sprint, and a GC battle right to the final kilometer!🔥
— طواف العلا | ALULATOUR (@thealulatour) February 1, 2025
🎥 Check out the highlights of the final stage!#AlUlaTour 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/KUmmWdod8d