In the hours after Fred Wright won the British National Road Championships last weekend, cogs started to turn at Pinarello Q36.5. Only four days separated the event from the Tour de France’s team presentation in Barcelona, Spain, where Wright will line up ahead of his sixth appearance at the race. He had earned his right to wear the British bands. Could his team make him a new kit in time? “They were the first emails being sent,” Wright says. “That evening, on Sunday, that was the first thing: ‘OK, how are we going to get this ready?’”
The matter quickly became pressing. The truth is, not only does Wright want to show off his second national champion’s jersey, the spoils of his latest victory, he’s also plotting to win in it.
Since making his Tour debut in 2021, Wright has led breakaways at the race, tallied a string of stage top-10s, and scored a near-miss second place behind Mads Pedersen in 2022. This year, having swapped Bahrain Victorious for Tour debutants Pinarello Q36.5, he hopes everything will fall into place.
“I’m always going to be at the start line of a Grand Tour wanting to win a stage. I think that’s how I am as a rider,” he tells Cycling Weekly. “I just want to be in the mix for stages, showing the bands. I got in a few breakaways last year, but I probably wasn’t as up there and involved as I’d have liked. Wherever there’s a chance, I’d like to be there.”
Wright, 27, is now in his seventh year as a pro. To date, a major international win has eluded him, despite his will to attack. Five times he has finished in the top five of stages at the Vuelta a España, once at the Tour, and until his National Championships win in Aberystwyth on Sunday, which came from a three-man shout-out with Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling) and Connor Swift (Netcompany-Ineos), he hadn’t won for three years – his only other pro victory being the same in 2023.
To win again, he says, felt “really special – it’s nice to know that I can still play a final well and come out of it on top. In a scenario where you’re not necessarily the favourite, knowing that I can still wangle my way to the win, that bodes well for the Tour.
“One thing’s for sure: I felt really good, which is always nice. Everyone’s flying at the Tour, everyone’s going well, but I can confidently say I’m in very good shape.”
Pinarello Q36.5 manager Doug Ryder announced on Wednesday that the team are planning to race “proactively” on their Tour debut. The squad will be led by Vuelta podium finisher Tom Pidcock, who, along with his seven team-mates, will “look for opportunities every day”, Ryder added.
Wright has already singled out his chances over the three weeks. “There’ll be a bit of helping Tom, but I think the plan also is to go for breaks,” he says. “I’ve already got some stages in my head, how the race is going to flow. It’s really exciting.”
Naturally, Wright would not be drawn on announcing the days he is targeting. “With these breaks, especially in high-level races, it’s random enough that you don’t want to think about it too much,” he says.
“You never really know how the GC gets involved, or what breakaway stages are going to be like. But no, I’ve got my eye on some stages and I’m always going to be hopeful, always going to be trying.”
After waiting three years to win again, Wright’s next victory could be days away. The finish line shot, arms outstretched in the red, white and blue of the British champion’s jersey, would surely sit nicely in a frame on the mantelpiece.
