While there have been a number of high-profile rider transfers between the 2024 and 2025 season, together with Demi Vollering leaving SD Worx to affix FDJ-SUEZ, the story (or saga, given what number of column inches have been devoted to the skilled divorce) that captured the eye most was the switch of Tom Pidcock from Ineos to Q36.5.
It has been confirmed that Pidcock is not going to be racing the Tour de France this yr, because the Q36.5 squad didn’t obtain a wildcard entry, however nonetheless the crew’s bike, together with the all-new Scott Addict, shall be on present at lots of the largest races. Unusually, although, Pidcock himself will proceed to race on Pinarello bikes when he heads to any MTB occasions, in addition to gravel and cyclocross races.
The crew has been using the aero-focussed Scott Foil for quite a lot of seasons, however this yr they are going to have entry to the Scott Addict RC Ultimate, the lightest manufacturing highway bike in the marketplace.
The crew will, nonetheless, have a barely completely different setup to the off-the-peg mannequin, as a result of sponsorship preparations and the ever-present UCI minimal weight restrict of 6.8kg. Having a motorcycle that may simply meet the restrict nonetheless will definitely be of profit to the crew mechanics, and should allow the crew to make use of extra aerodynamic, deeper wheels on mountain levels whereas nonetheless sustaining a aggressive weight.
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For 2025 the Q36.5 crew shall be operating both a Scott Foil or Scott Addict frameset, Zipp wheels within the type of the 454NSW, and Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres, a wheel and tyre mixture that made headlines in 2024 following a high-profile incident of the tyre blowing off the rim.
The drivetrain is the top-of-the-range SRAM Red, pedals are from Look and the opposite contact factors within the type of saddle and cockpit are Synchros fashions, an in-house element model of Scott.
While the Scott Foil is the older mannequin, our personal impartial wind tunnel testing concluded that the Scott Foil was one of the vital aerodynamic bikes in the marketplace, with our weighting on the calculations inserting it second total, solely being outshone over the total sweep of yaw angles (the angle at which the wind hits the rider) by the Factor Ostro VAM.
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While we’ve got but to check the newest Addict RC, it’s unlikely that it’s going to carry out as nicely in aerodynamic phrases, and so we count on the crew to function a technique the place the Foil is the weapon of alternative on most terrain, and the Addict reserved for the excessive mountains the place energy to weight takes better prominence. Given Pidcock is the youngest-ever winner up Alpe d’Huez he might be glad that the crew now has a totally up-to-date climbing machine for the season forward.
While the Addict could also be mild, the Foil is so aero we suspect it’s going to stay the crew’s bike of alternative more often than not. (Image credit score: Q36.5 / Scott Sports)
