Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot spotted on prototype Pinarello mountain bikes

Both Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot appear to have raced the recent French Cup in Guerét on new prototype Pinarello mountain bikes. Ferrand rode to a clear victory in the women's XC race while Pidcock had to retire with a mechanical in the men's short track event.

Both riders were riding Pinarello prototype mountain bikes covered in black and white camouflage designs. The bikes were both full suspension models and are surely a strong sign Pinarello wants to re-enter the MTB space. An obvious choice given the calibre of its two MTB stars.

Pinarello does not currently produce an MTB model, although it has in years gone by. Pidcock has raced up until this point on an unmarked BMC Fourstroke model. The Italian brand is surely keen to have both Pidcock and Ferrand-Prevot racing on Pinarello MTBs.

In the Instagram post below first shared by the Escape Collective, you can see a shot of Pidcock aboard the new bike on the start line.

The currently unknown Pinarello model looks to use a carbon fibre frame with a curved top tube shape which shares some design cues with the Crossista cyclo cross bike developed with Pidcock.

SR Suntour suspension has featured on Pidcock's MTBs for the past few years and an electronic control box of sorts can be seen mounted to the rear shock and front forks. The rear shock is mounted high under the top tube with a split yoke-style linkage. Down at the bottom bracket a gap around the seat tube and bb shell could be to improve ride characteristics or to add further linkage or shock positioning options.

29-inch Princeton Carbonworks wheels were used, wrapped in Continental Race King tyres. Princeton also doesn't look to sell a dedicated MTB wheelset at present, so this could well be another new component for the build.

Pidcock used a mechanical Shimano XTR rear derailleur and shifter paired with top-tier XTR brakes. Perhaps showing some concern about a Di2 wire rattled free over rough ground. Pidcock also ran a dropper post for the course.

Finally, up-front, a very short head tube features alongside a one-piece carbon fibre MOST handlebar and stem. MOST - Pinarello's in-house component brand - doesn't sell an MTB bar currently so this also looks to be a new component.

We will update this story with more details if we learn more from Pinarello or Ineos Grenadiers.