Tom Pidcock getting deselected for Il Lombardia is just the latest drama at Ineos Grenadiers. Former directeur sportif (yes, of you know who) Johan Bruyneel thinks that this is the beginning of the end for the long-running British squad.
“I first saw red flags when they put Steve Cummings, the head of all directeurs sportifs, aside for no explainable reason for the Tour de France. He had to stay at home, and the team came up with a ridiculous statement that he would run things from home. That doesn’t make any sense,” Bruyneel said on The Move podcast.
“There is something strange going on at Ineos.”
Bruyneel on the future of Ineos Grenadiers
“Something tells me that Jim Ratcliffe (CEO of Ineos Grenadiers) is not so interested in the cycling team anymore. And if he still is, then the people advising him are not. And they want to get rid of the team. It looks to me like the team is slowly but surely going to disappear. They still have some riders under contract until the end of 2027. But I see this as a way to get out for 2027 and save money.”
Just before the Olympics, Dan Bigham, 32, announced he would leave the Ineos Grenadiers team, where he had excelled as a performance engineer since joining in 2022. He was dissatisfied with the support he received while preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympics. “It’s about my approach to performance not aligning with Ineos. I wanted more autonomy to act on my ideas,” he said.
He compared the situation to past issues with British Cycling, expressing frustration that valuable performance opportunities were being missed. “Ineos is not where they want to be, and the gap is significant.” Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe immediately hired him.
On the issue of Pidcock
As for Pidcock, Bruyneel says he’s still an important asset to the team, which made the deselection a bad omen. There have been rumors that he may be headed to another team, despite his contract running until 2026.
“They haven’t signed a big rider, and Pidcock is their biggest talent. They have brought in other talents, but they have not signed expensive contracts. They haven’t made any major investments. I see this as the beginning of the end for Ineos. They will definitely be there next year. I already have my doubts about 2026, but 2027? I don’t think so.”
In January, Sir Dave Brailsford stepped down as team principal of Ineos Grenadiers after recently joining the Manchester…
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