After a disappointing Tour de France, what next for Ineos Grenadiers?
The British team are transitioning but they’re moving backwards at an alarming rate. We look at why, where it all went wrong, and how to correct the situation
May 1st 2019. Dave Brailsford, Jim Ratcliffe and Chris Froome are centre stage in a hotel in Linton, North Yorkshire to unveil Ineos as the new backers and sponsors of the Team Sky project.
The message projected by all three is one of continuity and success, with Brailsford himself stating: "We are hugely excited about the future with Ineos at the helm."
“This next chapter will be very different,” he went on to add.
“I would like to bring the excellence that Ineos have in their business and share it into our world. That Ineos is so involved in other sports makes it a different proposition than just a cycling team on its own.”
Five years on and that next chapter has indeed been very different. Ineos Grenadiers have just a single Tour de France win to their name after a run that had previously included six wins in seven years as Team Sky between 2012 and 2018. What’s more, the team have fallen behind several major rivals with Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE Team Emirates, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Soudal Quick-Step surpassing them in terms of recent Grand Tour success. The British squad, who once ruled the cycling world, are closer to being also-rans than the dominant force they used to be.