Andrew August will leave INEOS at the end of the 2026 season to join Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team on a three-year contract running through to the end of 2029.
The 20-year-old American arrives after the strongest season of his young career, capped by overall victory at the Czech Tour where he won two consecutive uphill stages before securing the general classification on Sunday.
That result followed earlier victories at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana and Itzulia Basque Country, giving August three very different examples of how quickly his development has accelerated during 2026.
“Winning the Czech Tour was a confirmation for me,” August said in Pinarello Q36.5’s announcement.
“I had been feeling really strong in training in the weeks before, and then everything came together. To win the GC and two stages gives me a lot of confidence.”
Czech Tour victory confirms August’s progression
The Czech Tour was the clearest evidence yet that August is moving beyond promise and towards consistent senior results.
He won two consecutive uphill stages before securing the overall classification, demonstrating both the climbing strength and race management required to finish off a short stage race.
For a rider still only 20, that is an important progression.
August had already shown flashes of high-end ability earlier in the season, but the Czech Tour victory provided something different: a complete GC performance over several days rather than one isolated result.
“I’m still discovering my limits and what kind of rider I can become,” he said.
“Right now, I just want to keep discovering that and win as many races as I can.”
That openness about his eventual rider profile is understandable.
August has already shown enough range to suggest he should not be boxed into one category too early. His climbing strength was already evident earlier in the year, while ProCyclingUK’s Itzulia Basque Country 2026 team-by-team guide highlighted him as one of INEOS’s younger, punchier options for the selective Basque terrain.
The results since then have justified that assessment.
First WorldTour victory came at Itzulia Basque Country
August’s breakthrough season had already taken a major step forward before the Czech Tour.
His first WorldTour victory came on Stage 6 of Itzulia Basque Country, where he attacked on the final climb of the Alto de Asentzio and then held his advantage over the wet descent into Bergara.
It was a significant result for a rider in only his third professional season.
The way he won mattered too.
The Basque Country rewards riders who can handle repeated climbing, technical roads and constantly changing race situations. August did not simply wait for a sprint or benefit from a tactical stalemate. He created the winning move himself and then finished it off under pressure.
That result underlined how quickly his ability was translating into senior WorldTour victories.
He had also already won at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana earlier in the year, meaning his 2026 success has come across several different scenarios.
That breadth appears to be one of the main reasons Pinarello Q36.5 see such a high ceiling.
Photo Credit: GettyFrom US racing to the WorldTour at 18
August’s route into the professional peloton has been unusually fast.
Born in Rochester, New York, he developed through racing in the United States before moving into European competition as a junior.
Cyclocross also formed part of his early background, helping develop the bike-handling and aggressive instincts that remain visible in his road racing.
Then came a major leap.
At just 18, August moved directly from the junior ranks into INEOS, skipping the more conventional development-team pathway used by many riders of his age.
That gave him immediate exposure to one of the most established WorldTour performance structures.
“Racing in the US is completely different to racing in Europe, so it was a big transition, both as a junior and then as a professional,” August said.
“Joining INEOS at 18 meant jumping straight into the deep end, but it allowed me to learn how cycling works at the highest level.”
Those three seasons have provided the foundation for the move that now follows.
His development continued through races such as the 2026 Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse, where INEOS increasingly used him as a rider capable of contributing on selective stages rather than simply gaining experience.
Why August chose Pinarello Q36.5
The transfer is not simply about finding more race leadership.
August repeatedly pointed towards the team’s structure and development environment as central to the decision.
“From my first conversations with Pinarello Q36.5, the professionalism of the Team really impressed me,” he said.
“It gave me the strongest feeling that this is the best place to continue my development and become the best rider I can be.”
The team’s Factory Team philosophy also appears to have been a major attraction.
From 2027, August will work directly with Pinarello, Q36.5 and Amacx, giving him a closer relationship with the brands developing the bike, clothing and nutrition products he will use.
“That direct relationship is super important,” August said.
“Sometimes in professional cycling you are given the material and told to make it work. When you work directly with the partners, you can actually make a difference to the product and make it better.
“That is also how we can get the best out of ourselves as a Team.”
Pinarello Q36.5 have spent 2026 sharpening that identity, including the new gold-and-blue visual direction introduced at the start of the season.
The August signing suggests the project is increasingly being built around recruitment as much as branding.
Pinarello Q36.5 see August as a long-term project
Team principal Douglas Ryder made clear that the signing is not being viewed as a short-term acquisition.
“Andrew is a rider who has impressed us for some time,” Ryder said.
“At only 20 years old, he already has valuable WorldTour experience, and what stands out is how quickly he continues to develop.”
Ryder specifically highlighted the Czech Tour as evidence that August is already beginning to convert talent into results.
“His performances this season, including two stage wins and the overall victory at the Czech Tour, show both his talent and his ability to turn potential into results.”
That distinction is important.
Young riders are often signed because of what teams believe they might become. August is already winning senior professional races while still being young enough that his eventual ceiling remains difficult to define.
Ryder believes there is still substantial room for development.
“We believe Andrew has all the attributes to become one of the leading riders of his generation,” he said.
“He is ambitious, committed to his development, and constantly looking for ways to improve.”
Another major 2027 signing for Pinarello Q36.5
August is not the only significant young rider joining Pinarello Q36.5 for next season.
The team have also secured Pavel Bittner on a two-year deal from 2027, adding one of the peloton’s most promising young sprinters.
The two moves point towards a broader recruitment strategy.
Bittner brings proven Grand Tour sprint ability, while August offers a very different profile built around climbing, stage races and selective one-day terrain.
Rather than adding only established names, Pinarello Q36.5 appear to be investing in riders who could still make a substantial jump over the next two or three seasons.
That makes August particularly interesting.
He is not arriving as a speculative development prospect. He already has a WorldTour victory and a stage-race overall title, but the team are signing him before his final rider profile is completely established.
That gives both sides room to find out where his ceiling really sits.
The move also becomes another notable entry in the 2027 men’s cycling transfer market, with Pinarello Q36.5 emerging as one of the more active teams in shaping its next generation.
Three-year deal gives August time to develop
The length of the contract is significant.
August will join on 1 January 2027 and remain with Pinarello Q36.5 through the end of 2029.
That gives both rider and team enough time to develop without the pressure of treating every season as a referendum on immediate success.
Ryder described the move explicitly as a long-term project.
“Our goal is to provide him with the environment, support and opportunities to continue that progression,” he said.
“We see this as a long-term project and are excited to help him take the next steps in his career.”
For August, the timing looks equally logical.
Three seasons at INEOS have given him WorldTour experience unusually early.
Now comes a move to a team where he should have more room to explore what type of rider he can become.
His 2026 results suggest that process is already accelerating.
The Czech Tour confirmed his stage-racing ability. His Itzulia Basque Country stage victory confirmed he can win at WorldTour level. Valencia showed the season was not built around one isolated breakthrough.
At 20, August is already winning.
From 2027, Pinarello Q36.5 will try to find out how much further that trajectory can go.
