Out of contract Tobias Foss hopes to heal INEOS' Tour wounds: 'It makes things a little more stressful'

Netcompany INEOS may have to look for several replacements to finalise their Tour de France squad. The British team might just turn to Tobias Foss. The 29-year-old Norwegian has faded somewhat from the spotlight in recent years, but seems to be in good enough shape to make a comeback at the Tour de France.

Foss is, of course, the man who won the surprising 2022 world time trial title in Australia. He is the rider who, after winning the Tour de l'Avenir in 2019, left the Uno-X youth academy to join the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team.

Riding for the current Visma | Lease a Bike team, Foss finished ninth in the 2021 Giro d'Italia; he demonstrated his potential in several week-long stage races, and he made significant strides on the time trial bike, with the rainbow jersey in 2022 as his biggest prize.

Still, Foss never quite reached his full potential at Visma | Lease a Bike, partly due to physical discomfort. As the Dutch team was growing rapidly, Foss decided to move to INEOS Grenadiers—now known as Netcompany INEOS—after 2023.

At INEOS, Foss showed glimpses of his immense talent. He won a stage at the Tour of the Alps in 2024 and took home the points jersey. In 2025, he finished ninth in Paris-Nice and made his debut in the Tour de France, after having competed in the Giro d'Italia four times in previous years.

The real breakthrough—if we can still call it that in Foss’s case—is still a ways off in 2026, but his performances in recent weeks have been promising. For example, he finished fourth in the Tour de Suisse and became the Norwegian time trial champion for the fourth time.

If he becomes Norwegian road champion for the second time this Sunday, Foss could very well head to the Tour wearing a champion’s jersey. That’s because Netcompany has already ruled out the injured Oscar Onley and is waiting to see if the ill Kévin Vauquelin will make it to the Tour de France.

A Tour selection is of great importance to Foss. After a lost spring—during which he broke a shoulder blade, ribs, collarbone, and vertebra in a massive crash at the Tour of Valencia—his expiring contract with Netcompany INEOS is weighing on his mind.

A strong Tour de France could change everything for the Norwegian, who looks back on his difficult months in 2026 in an interview with TV2. “The list of injuries was long; I was stuck on the couch for six weeks, and then I got sick on top of that.”

"It was a rough start to the season, which took a lot out of me mentally and physically. But fortunately, I had great support, both at home and at work. My fourth-place finish in the Tour de Suisse was a sign that I was in good shape. Even before the race, there was already discussion about whether I would compete in the Tour, and that discussion certainly hasn’t subsided now.”

At Netcompany INEOS, Foss might find himself on a team full of mavericks. The Giro d’Italia duo of Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal are likely to be there, as is time trialist Filippo Ganna. “I’m hoping so, especially if you’re in good shape. My body is well-balanced, and I’ve fully recovered.”

That bodes well for Foss, who hopes to secure a new contract in 2027, whether that’s with Netcompany INEOS or elsewhere. “I have no idea yet; it makes things a little more stressful. Mentally, it was a tough spring—we’ll see what happens. I haven’t opened or closed any doors.”

As a Norwegian, Uno-X Mobility is, of course, always an obvious choice, especially now that the Norwegian team has a WorldTour license and Foss was already part of its youth program. “Uno-X is always an option. I know a lot of people there, so that possibility is there.”