On 12 October 2026 the Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team announced the signing of Giulio Ciccone on a contract of three years. The deal runs from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029.
The Italian climber thus changes jersey after a long spell at the same team. From January he will find a new environment and a calendar to build with a different group of riders.
Leaving Lidl-Trek after eight seasons
Ciccone arrives after eight seasons with Lidl-Trek, from 2019 to 2026. In that time he became a rider for the Grand Tours and for one-day races. He is 31, born on 20 December 1994, so he will turn 32 shortly before pulling on the colours of his new team.
Pinarello Q36.5’s announcement came three days after Lidl-Trek’s statement that Ciccone would leave at the end of the season. The two pieces of news read together: the split was made public and, within a few days, the rider had a new home.
For Lidl-Trek it means losing one of its climbing leaders. For Ciccone it means closing a long chapter, in which he collected wins, jerseys and placings, and opening one that will last until the end of 2029.
Pinarello Q36.5 and teammate Tom Pidcock
Pinarello Q36.5 is a ProTeam with a Swiss licence. It carries the names of Pinarello, a historic bicycle brand, and Q36.5, a technical clothing brand. Ciccone joins a group that has chosen to grow around big names.
In 2027 Ciccone will race alongside Tom Pidcock. For the Italian climber it is a concrete change: he will have a better-known teammate at his side, with whom to share goals and responsibilities in the races where the team wants to be seen.
The context changes too. After years inside the same structure, Ciccone will have to build new habits with staff, teammates and coaches. The three-year contract gives him the time to do so without hurry and to plan several seasons in a row.
Four Grand Tour stages and two climbers’ jerseys
Ciccone’s Grand Tour record is already a long one. He has won three stages at the Giro d’Italia, in 2016, 2019 and 2022. In all, his Grand Tour stage wins stand at four.
The mountains have also given him jerseys. He won the best climber’s jersey at the Giro d’Italia in 2019 and 2026. In 2023 he won the polka-dot jersey at the Tour de France, the prize for the rider who crosses the mountain summits first.
His career has had two clear stages. From 2016 to 2018 he rode for Bardiani-CSF, the team with which he won his first stage at the Giro. In 2019 he moved to Trek-Segafredo, the name Lidl-Trek carried when Ciccone joined.
What he brings to Pinarello Q36.5 is the profile of a complete climber: he can win a stage, earn a points jersey and do so at both the Giro and the Tour.
Classics and placings before the signing
The last two years show that Ciccone is not just a man for long climbs. In 2025 he won the Clásica San Sebastián, a classic that rewards those who can handle a nervous course and pick the right moment to attack. Also in 2025 he finished second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
2026 confirmed the trend. He took second at the European Road Championships and third at Il Lombardia. In September 2026 he also finished second at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.
These are results in races that differ in terrain and country, and almost always on the podium. They describe a rider who is there on the decisive days.
That is what Ciccone brings as his dowry to the new team: a climber who at 31 has the pace for the classics too. For a ProTeam that wants to contest major races from spring to autumn, it is a profile that can change the way the season is prepared.
Sources
- Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, “A New Chapter. The Same Fire. Giulio Ciccone Signs Three-Year Deal With Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team”.
- Cyclingnews, “Giulio Ciccone joins forces with Tom Pidcock at Pinarello-Q36.5 in 2027 after early exit from Lidl-Trek”.
- Photo: GeorgDerReisende, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; editing: la fagIAnata.
Written with the help of Mnemosyne.