<\/p>\n
For a team built around relentless, metronomic workload, it was a brutal realisation. For Gloag, it became the starting point for how to rebuild his career.<\/p>\n
The crash, the comeback and the frustration in between<\/p>\n
Gloag\u2019s rise had looked effortless at first. Sixth overall at the 2023 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. A surprise Giro debut. A stage win on his comeback from a shattered kneecap. But the momentum never stuck. A fractured elbow reset everything again. Across 2024 and 2025 he raced often but rarely at the level he expected.<\/p>\n
His assessment was blunt. \u201cThis last season and in 2023, I started quite strongly and finished well, but between March and September I wasn\u2019t as competitive. To be off that top level for six months is a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than blame luck, he pointed to preparation. As a junior he averaged just ten hours a week on the bike. The engine everyone assumes he has simply had not been built yet. \u201cMy ability to handle volume has never been very good, and it\u2019s always been my Achilles\u2019 heel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why Q36.5 became the turning point<\/p>\n
Team Visma | Lease a Bike were open to keeping him, but Gloag sensed that staying meant stagnating. The route forward was clearer elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have so many fantastic riders, and I think jumping across to Q36.5<\/a>, a growing team that should race all three Grand Tours next year, was a better option for me.\u201dThere is also comfort in familiar faces. Tom Pidcock<\/a> from their Trinity days, Fred Wright from VC Londres, and head of performance Kurt Bogaerts, the coach who believed in him first. \u201cKurt stuck his neck out for me and that meant a lot,\u201d Gloag said. \u201cHe and the people around him are really smart and it ended up being an easy decision.\u201dLearning the hard lessons at Visma<\/p>\n Despite the hardships, he credits Team Visma | Lease a Bike for teaching him how to function as a professional. \u201cIt was the best place in the world to learn the ropes because at Visma you get a masterclass in how to be a pro cyclist.\u201d<\/p>\n His most interesting observation was about the culture everyone romanticises. \u201cThere\u2019s so much emphasis on the latest cutting edge thing, but the reality is the sexy stuff that is exciting to read about doesn\u2019t contribute to a significantly better performance. The basics are 95 percent of the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n Q36.5\u2019s WorldTour wildcard access guarantees he will have chances. But Gloag insists the name of the race is irrelevant. \u201cI\u2019d love to go back to a Grand Tour\u2026 but I\u2019m not bothered whether it\u2019s the Giro or a Crystal Palace crit. The main thing I want to do is ride my bike fast more consistently and be at the front of races. The goal is clear: to be at the back less and at the front more.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s rare to hear a young GC prospect strip everything back this honestly. And it makes the reset year ahead far more compelling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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