Geraint Thomas admits Netcompany INEOS is not what it used to be: 'We’ve slipped up a few times'

The days of Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins are long gone at Netcompany INEOS. The British team had hoped to take a step forward in 2026, but with new team leaders, that didn’t really prove possible. Despite their financial clout, they finished eighth in the UCI rankings, and Geraint Thomas, the team’s Head of Racing, knows they need to do better.

After glory years with Egan Bernal, Froome, Wiggins, and Thomas himself, INEOS Grenadiers slipped to eighth place in the UCI rankings in 2025. That had to change, so the team opened its wallet. With Oscar Onley, the team signed the British leader they’d been dreaming of, and Kévin Vauquelin was also brought in to shine on the same terrain. Sprinters Dorian Godon and Sam Welsford provided the necessary speed.

But by the end of 2026, the team had remained stuck in eighth place. Team leader Onley missed the Tour de France and finished sixth in the Vuelta a España; Vauquelin earned only half the points he had the previous season; and Welsford won only the Tour Down Under. Of those riders, Godon was the only real bright spot, with no fewer than seven victories.

Thomas knows things need to improve, but says in his podcast Watts Occurring that this was the first step in the process. “It’s all about that progress, and where you start from. This might make for a good headline, but we’re starting at 20 percent of where we used to be. And you can’t just jump from 20 to 80 percent. You have to take each step of the ladder. And we’ve slipped up a few times, but that’s all part of it.”

And so we need to look at our performance in a different light. “You could say our season was good or bad. Based purely on results, it certainly wasn’t good, but all of our team leaders are new to the squad. And they’ve learned a lot—they’ll carry that with them into the new season. They’re all very young, and they were previously in a completely different environment.”

Netcompany INEOS also had its share of bad luck. As mentioned earlier, the British team was without Onley in the Tour, and Vauquelin also wasn’t at his best due to illness. But the Welshman believes his team needs to handle such situations better. “These days, guys might think that everything has to go right to get a good result. But it’s never over. Mads Pedersen has proven that this year, more than anyone else.”