Currently the cyclo-cross cyclists are still the kings of the bicycle, but the road season is coming soon again. In our series of team presentations, today we focus on the British top team Ineos Grenadiers. Can they reclaim their place at the top of the pyramid?
That’s how it was last year
36 victories is something you can come home with. Yet we heard the British teeth gnashing from across the Channel to here.
Because wasn’t the quality of those victories a bit disappointing? Tom Pidcock’s victory in Strade Bianche was hopeful, but after that it was limited to stage victories at WorldTour level.
What will undoubtedly have stung even more is that Jumbo-Visma mopped up everything in the big tours. While Ineos or predecessor Sky was the measure of all things in lap work for years, whether with Wiggins, Froome, Thomas or Bernal.
And that is where the price shoe is increasingly pinching. If they were still ‘the Barcelona of the race’ a few years ago, they have now fallen to the sub-top. Jumbo and UAE have already passed them by and Bora-Hansgrohe and Lidl-Trek have also gradually crossed over after a chase.
To turn the tide, Ineos was angling for Remco Evenepoel in 2023. He should become the new diamond in the British crown.
Ultimately, negotiations with the Evenepoel clan were stopped (for the time being?). This meant that many riders were only told at a late stage that they could stay. It also ensured that manager Rod Ellingworth – the successor to strong man Dave Brailsford – had access. “A lot of things are changing here,” noted the ever-outspoken Geraint Thomas.
Everything on youth?
Ineos/Sky was a trendsetter in the race for many years. Under the guise of ‘marginal gains’, it took an advantage over the competition in almost all areas. He has now largely lost it.
Ineos, for example, chose the youth card faster than the competition. The best teenagers were attracted in the hope of finding a growth brilliant.
The hope now is that those brilliants will start to shine more and more in the coming years: Joshua Tarling was immediately impressive as a time trialist in his first professional year. Can he also show the many horsepower under the hood in other areas?
Carlos Rodriguez was also recruited as a teenager. He has taken a step forward over the past 4 years, with a 5th place in last year’s Tour as the current highlight. But isn’t he gradually reaching his limits?
Ineos still counts on Tom Pidcock for the classic work, even though he faded away somewhat after his victory in the Strade. The all-rounder may finally have to make some decisions. Does he opt for the classics or for the lap work? And won’t he be too busy with the mountain bike in this Olympic year?
With Magnus Sheffield and Ben Turner, the Grenadiers have 2 other grenades that can explode in Flanders fields. They are also still young and therefore still have sufficient stretch.
That can certainly be said of Andrew ‘AJ’ August. Barely 18 years old and already called “the new Evenepoel” here and there. “But with more power.” That can count as a letter of nobility. But also a heavy crown to wear.
And just before New Year’s Eve, Theodor Storm, who was the same age, also made the switch. He was initially not supposed to join until 2025, but Ineos signed the Dane a year sooner.
Storm skips the promising category à la Evenepoel. He impressed as a junior with, among other things, a 3rd place in Paris-Roubaix and as an assistant in Albert Philipsen’s world title.
Former top talents are leaving
The American August and the Dane Storm are two of only 4 newcomers to Ineos. Climbing rider Oscar Rodriguez (Spa) was picked up from Movistar, and with ex-world champion Tobias Foss (Noo), the team has another time trial monster.
On the other hand, it sees many former top talents seeking other places. Tao Geoghegan Hart (once winner of the Giro), Pavel Sivakov, Ben Tulett and Luke Plapp, just like August, were once overloaded with superlatives.
But for various reasons they were ground in the unforgiving Ineos meat grinder. Those who do not perform quickly enough are too quickly forced into a servant role. They hope to exchange that for a leading role with another team.
Daniel Felipe Martinez also did not make it at Ineos in the end. When he switched from EF, he failed to make the leap to leadership. And so the still only 27-year-old Colombian is recuperating at Bora-Hansgrohe.
Re-energize: also the motto for Ineos itself. With a new strong man to set the tone and with some super talents who need to blossom. Awaiting the arrival of that other super talent, Remco Evenepoel?
biggest loss: with Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ineos loses a former winner of a Grand Tour, who seemed to have completely rediscovered himself in 2023, until he broke his hip in the Giro. If he regains that same level, Lidl-Trek will find a good asset in the still only 28-year-old Briton.
smartest transfer: Tobias Foss had reached a bit of a dead end at Jumbo-Visma. The former world time trial champion ends up with his favorite team at Ineos. Will that be the missing link to develop into the tour rider that many have always seen in him?
revelation: an ex-Tour winner as a revelation? Egan Bernal is of course not a small shrimp, but after his incredibly serious accident in 2022, the road back to the top is long. In 2023, Bernal occasionally showed glimpses of his old class again. If he becomes more regular in his performances, he may be able to achieve his ultimate goal: winning the Vuelta and thus being on the honors list of all the major tours. Newcomers Andrew ‘AJ’ August (USA) Hot Tubes Cycling Oscar Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Tobias Foss (Noo) Jumbo-Visma Theodor Storm (Den) Carl Ras Roskilde Departers Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Lidl-Trek Daniel Felipe Martinez (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe Pavel Sivakov (Fra) UAE Ben Tulett (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike Luke Plapp (Aus) Jayco AlUla Cameron Wurf (Aus) – –
