“We will win the Tour de France within the next five years,” would be an ambitious statement for anyone not called Tadej Pogačar or UAE Team Emirates-XRG to make in 2026, but it was among the striking words uttered by the CEO of Ineos’ new co-title sponsor on Tuesday.
His name is Andrej Rogaczewski, co-founder and CEO of Netcompany, a rapidly growing AI technology leader in Europe that has entered cycling with big money – reportedly €100 million over five years – and grand ambitions to both optimise Jim Ratcliffe’s British team and return them to former yellow jersey-winning glory.
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But can AI really help win them the Tour de France?
They obviously don’t have Pogačar, but Netcompany-Ineos are also without any of recent his closest GC rivals, like Jonas Vingegaard, recent podium finishers Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, or the top young rider in the sport, Paul Seixas.
The last time Ineos finished on the podium of the Tour was with Geraint Thomas in 2022, who sat on stage in a polo shirt, not the new kit, having recently retired.
Brailsford thinks the genetic gap to the likes of Pogačar and…
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