If Tom Pidcock and part of the Pinarello-Q36.5 squad catch a glimpse of the Canary Islands and the famous mountain of Teide this January, it'll only be from their plane window on route to South America, as the British star is taking the unusual option of heading to Chile for his early-season altitude training camp.
In an interview with Nieuwsblad, Head of Performance Kurt Bogaerts confirmed the plans, saying that "At this time of year, you need to be able to go on a training camp somewhere with a good climate for training, so you don't have to constantly improvise."
Whilst January snows mean that Sierra Nevada in Spain and Livigno in Italy, popular destinations for team training camps later in the year, are not practical so soon in 2026, the widely favoured option of Teide in January in the Canary Islands is not as straightforward as it seems, Bogaerts said.
The Belgian coach pointed to the fact that there is only one hotel at altitude and that bad weather can force riders to train in the valley below as well. Chile, on the other hand, has multiple options - and in the hotel where the team will be staying, at 2,700 metres above sea level, pleasant temperatures of around 15-20 degrees at altitude.
"We have contacts there and have invested enough time so everything should be fine. The roads are also supposed to be good. I currently have seven or eight routes the riders can take on training, so there will be plenty of variety. And once we're there, we'll discover some new routes," Bogaerts said.
The team will be present in Chile for around three weeks, but it's only part of the squad that is going. Seven riders, including Pidcock, will be present, as well as nine members of staff ranging from a nutritionist to the team manager and coach.
"Tom himself was the driving force behind the idea when it was put forward at the end of last year. It was important that he was fully behind it. Incidentally, we didn't force anyone to come; it's something you, as a rider, really have to be enthusiastic about," Bogaerts said.
"We didn't want to have too large a group this first time so we could manage everything properly."
On returning to racing, Pidcock will likely be on much more familiar terrain. Bogaerts also confirmed in an interview with Sporza that Pidcock will probably be taking part in Opening Weekend this season, whilst further down the line, cyclo-cross could be back on the calendar, too.
"His spring schedule will be similar to previous years. So Het Nieuwsblad is therefore possible again," Bogaerts said.
Pidcock will probably then tackle Strade Bianche, where he finished second last year behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), then head for Milan-Sanremo before moving on to the Ardennes Classics.
At the far end of the season, a return to cyclo-cross could be on the cards. A former World Champion in the speciality, Pidcock raced off-season regularly in the past, but he missed out completely in 2025 following a very busy 2025 road program.
That might change in the future, Bogaerts said, but it would depend in part on his position in the starting grid of some aces, given his lack of participation this winter meant he would not be near the front. That drawback could change in the World Cup races, though, where his good position in the UCI road rankings would allow him to be further forward.
"Because Tom didn't race cyclo-cross this past winter, he'd have to start from the back in his first cyclo-cross races. Having to start from the back to catch up isn't ideal."
"[However] if he maintains his good road ranking, Tom could be on the fifth row of the starting grid for the World Cup events. That opens up possibilities."
First, though, comes the expedition to South America. Altitude training camps there are not totally unprecedented for European-based teams, although few, if any, have ever gone as far afield as Chile.
Mark Cavendish and the Astana team spent time in the mountains in Colombia in January 2024 prior to taking part in the now sadly defunct Colombia Tour. Then, around a decade ago, Olympic gold medallist and Giro d'Italia winner Richard Carapaz was reportedly inspired to pursue his vision of turning pro after the Astana team bus turned up pre-season in his native high-altitude region of Carchi in neighbouring Ecuador.
