INEOS Grenadiers

This is the page about INEOS Grenadiers, formerly known as Team Sky and Team INEOS. The British team has been a dominant force in cycling, winning seven Tours de France in the last ten years. IDLProCycling.com compiles all the news about this multimillion-dollar formation.

Team Sky (2010-2019)

At the end of 2009, the creation of Team Sky was a reality. With a mega-budget of several tens of millions, the primary goal was set to win the Tour de France within five years. The team distinguished itself by recruiting multiple top riders and deploying them in the grand tours. Climbers, who were often team leaders at their previous teams, had to do domestique work at Team Sky.

The objective to win the Tour de France within five years was achieved in 2012, the team's third season. Bradley Wiggins completed the journey to Paris the fastest, becoming the first Brit to win the prestigious race. At the end of 2011, he also finished second in the Vuelta a España, behind team mate - and compatriot Chris Froome, who inherited the victory after original winner Juan José Cobo lost his title in 2019.

Wiggins' dominant win in the 2012 Tour set the stage for Team Sky's increasing dominance in the years to follow. Teammate Froome took over from Wiggins, whose performances declined after 2012, and won the Tours of 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017. The pattern was often the same during the stages: the peloton was led by a train of Sky riders who took turns to relieve leader Froome as much as possible. This method of racing, also known as tempo riding, proved to be the key to success for the British formation throughout the decade. With strong domestiques, Froome could rely on his powerful companions well into the high mountains.

Froome was not only successful in France, as the Africa-born British cyclist also claimed victories in the 2017 Vuelta a España and the 2018 Giro d'Italia. In the latter year, he attempted to win the Tour de France again, but this time his teammate Geraint Thomas proved too strong.

Team INEOS's train transforms into INEOS Grenadiers' attack machine

At the end of 2018, Sky announced it would no longer sponsor the team. As a result, the team had to search for a new title sponsor, which they found in March 2019 in the chemical company INEOS. The team was rebranded as Team INEOS. Despite the new name and colors, the team continued to dominate, not with Froome or Thomas, but with a young climbing talent from Colombia: Egan Bernal. In 2018, he finished fifteenth in the Tour de France, and the following year, he was the best overall. At 22 years old, he became the youngest post-war winner of the Tour.

Team INEOS entered 2020 with the same ambitions, but the coronavirus pandemic disrupted their plans. The season was paused for months, finally restarting in August. During this period, INEOS was far from idle. CEO Jim Ratcliffe introduced a new project: the INEOS Grenadier, an off-road vehicle. Consequently, the cycling team's name was changed on August 26 from Team INEOS to INEOS Grenadiers. The new uniform made its debut at the 2020 Tour de France.

While the name changed on paper, the team's approach also shifted in practice. Team boss Dave Brailsford found the answer to the question of how to move forward during the 2020 Giro d'Italia. After Thomas withdrew from the Giro, Tao Geoghegan Hart adopted an aggressive racing style to win the pink jersey. This was a stunning surprise but also laid the foundation for future strategies. INEOS Grenadiers openly stated their intention to focus on aggressive, attacking cycling, moving away from the well-known "trains" of Team Sky and Team INEOS.

Established order gives way to new vigor

In 2021, INEOS Grenadiers truly bounced back. After a disappointing year marked by the pandemic, the team shifted its focus more than ever towards winning, and they succeeded. The team secured 35 victories, with Egan Bernal's overall win being the highlight. The Colombian's comeback to the forefront after a year and a half of injury struggles boosted the team. Richard Carapaz fought his way to third place in the Tour de France. INEOS also showed improvement in the classics, with Dylan van Baarle winning races like Dwars door Vlaanderen.

As the new vigor within INEOS grew, the established order began to fade. Froome had already left after 2020, and names like Thomas and Michal Kwiatkowski were seen less at the front. Bernal, Carapaz, Geoghegan Hart, and the newly recruited Adam Yates suddenly took over the leading roles. This was accompanied by an almost constant influx of young talent heading into 2022.

In 2022, INEOS had an extremely successful season, although they didn't win any grand tours. With Bernal's absence due to a terrible crash in January, Carapaz had to step up in the Giro and Vuelta. He finished second behind Jai Hindley in the Giro and won three stages and the mountain jersey in the Vuelta. Moreover, Dylan van Baarle won Paris-Roubaix, and the team performed incredibly well in week-long stage races, with Geraint Thomas finishing a commendable third in the Tour de France. Carlos Rodriguez showed his potential with a strong top ten in the Vuelta, and Tom Pidcock won the mountain stage to Alpe d'Huez.

In 2023, the team started well with Tom Pidcock's victory in Strade Bianche, but that remained their biggest win of the season. Geraint Thomas narrowly missed out on winning the Giro d'Italia, Carlos Rodríguez finished top five in the Vuelta, and Joshua Tarling emerged with a European Time Trial Championship. Additionally, Pidcock won gold in mountain biking at the World Championships.

Heading into 2024, the team underwent a transformation. Strong climbers Daniel Felipe Martínez (BORA-hansgrohe), Pavel Sivakov (UAE-Team Emirates), Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike), and Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) all departed, with Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma) being the notable addition.