Tour de France leadership crisis may force Netcompany INEOS to fall back on Giro d'Italia formula

Setback seems to be the word de jour ahead of this Tour de France. Teams like Visma | Lease a Bike are losing riders left and right, but it is Netcompany INEOS who are maybe in the worst position. The British team will have to do without team leader Oscar Onley, among others, and Kévin Vauquelin’s spot is also in doubt. This means the team will have to adjust and may need to fall back on a tried-and-true strategy.

Last year, Thymen Arensman saved the Tour de France for INEOS Grenadiers with two phenomenal stage wins. In the general classification, the Dutchman finished twelfth, while the intended team leader, Carlos Rodríguez, dropped out. Filippo Ganna had to leave the Tour halfway through the first stage. Things had to be different in 2026, so the team went on a major shopping spree.

Amid much fanfare, Vauquelin and Onley—the number seven and four riders in the 2025 Tour—were signed. But so far, it hasn’t been a particularly happy marriage: both team leaders have had their fair share of bad luck this year. Onley has been sick several times, took a hard fall in the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, and will have to miss the Tour. Vauquelin’s participation is also in doubt due to a virus he contracted in France.

This is surely causing Netcompany INEOS some headaches. Top time trialist Josh Tarling will also be absent from Barcelona due to a broken collarbone. But the biggest puzzle now is: who will be the team leader for the British squad? Onley is out, and Vauquelin may be out as well. That’s why, according to La Gazzetta journalist Ciro Scognamiglio, they’re falling back on the approach that proved successful in the Giro d’Italia.

Arensman was the team leader there, and there had already been talk that he would be back for the Tour. But he was joined in Italy by Egan Bernal. The Colombian helped him secure fourth place in the overall standings with a rock-solid final week, and the duo also competed in last year’s Giro. Bernal finished seventh in 2025, while the Dutchman played a more supporting role, finishing 29th.

The pair work together exceptionally well. Bernal won the Tour in 2019 and, according to the Italian source, is in the running to replace Onley in Barcelona. The Colombian champion did not compete last year; he was riding the Giro and the Vuelta a España at the time, where he won a stage. The pair may also be looking to secure stage wins in France, as their preparation for the Tour has not been ideal for a bid at the top spots in the general classification.

We await the Netcompany INEOS Tour de France team announcement.