2022 European Championships - Cycling Mountain Bike - Olympiapark Mountain Bike Course, Munich, Germany - August 19, 2022 Britain's Tom Pidcock celebrates after winning gold in the men's Cross-country Final REUTERS/Lukas Barth/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) -Double Olympic mountain bike champion Tom Pidcock will leave his team Ineos Grenadiers at the end of the season, the British cycling team said on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old all-rounder, who has been racing with Ineos since 2021, had signed a new five-year deal in 2022 with the British road outfit through to the 2027 season.
"We're really proud of the work we have done with Tom to help him achieve some extraordinary and memorable moments," Ineos Grenadiers CEO John Allert said in a statement.
"Together we have written a powerful chapter and shown how exciting and diverse professional cycling can be.
"Tom has some big multi-disciplinary goals and we believe this decision enables both of us to pursue our future ambitions with clarity, purpose and determination. We thank Tom for the last four years and wish him the best of luck for the future."
Pidcock is regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in cycling and won gold in the mountain bike event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before claiming the title again at this year's Paris Games in a thrilling race.
His best road result this year was winning the Ardennes Classic the Amstel Gold and he was fourth in Strade Bianche but the expected challenge for a Grand Tour has yet to happen.
Pidcock won the Alpe d'Huez stage of the Tour de France in 2022, the youngest rider ever to do so.
But his best finish in the Tour de France was 13th in 2023 and this year he did not finish because of a positive COVID-19 test.
Pidcock was left out of the Ineos squad for the Il Lombardia road race in October, expressing his surprise on social media.
His availability is sure to alert some of the biggest road teams in cycling with Swiss outfit Q36.5 Pro reportedly at the front of the queue for his signature.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ed Osmond)
