Ineos Grenadiers

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  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,544

    I understand Ineos' strategy, but given their frankly appalling record of developing young riders, I think it's a high risk one.

  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,969

    It would appear they have rather lost their way, I don't think they are seen as the dream destination team that they once were.


    Sad to see Luke Rowe was not able to make it to the TOB, presume that must be him done for good then :-(

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  • roscoe
    roscoe Posts: 525

    The way G was talking on the Podcast, it sounds as if Luke Rowe finished up last month. Left Monaco and moved back to Wales.

  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,969

    Sad way for his career to end, harsh.

    Who would not want to be in Wales instead of Monaco though.

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  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,969

    It was a bit tongue in cheek :-)


    I've visited Monaco, and loved it as an avid petrol head, but know I would not be eligible to live there ever.


    My bro lives in Italy, and my parents now live in Spain (for a 2nd time) after leaving Mauritius.

    Personally I would love to live in France for a multitude of reasons.

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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661

    Despite the fact that quite a few French live there? :P

  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,969

    ahaha, no I love the French in fact, and can trace my far back ancestry there.


    Stayed in several areas of France, up and down the country, and do not subscribe to the sweeping 'all French people are rude' tabloid type opinion a lot of people seem to have in this country 🙄


    Only very recently visited Paris for the first time ever, and if I was going to meet rude people, that was my number 1 expected location. One slightly 'off' woman who was staffing the security scans for the Eiffel tower, but aside from that, friendly and helpful people in shops, cafe's and even just the general public, one guy who we asked where to take our parking ticket to, walked us all the way over to the other side of the floor to show us, having first asked if we needed any help, as we were looking a bit lost.


    *I know your response was in jest :-)

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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661

    Haha I think half the country can trace their family back to France if you go far back enough 😜

    Stunning country, great bike races, food is good, their companies seem to want to use my services way way more than any other country so they pay my bills, all good.

    Something about the place just rubs me funny. Not sure I could make a life there.

  • roscoe
    roscoe Posts: 525

    Tom Pidcock quoted on Road.cc and Cycling News saying that issues within Ineos are affecting his performance.

  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,436
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,094

    This is at least 3 concussions Pidcock has suffered - Tour de l'avenir in '19 then he missed MSR in '23 and missing racing again now. Noticed Luke Rowe was advised by a doctor that in pro Rugby after 5 serious concussions players should consider giving up the sport.

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  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,969
    edited September 10

    yeh read that, not sure if any of it was lost in translation, as presumably it was translated from English into Belgian, and then back again for the article - or maybe it was a live interview in English, not sought it out myself.


    Seems to be an awful lot of disquiet at Ineos for a long time now, but only seems to be increasing which is a bit sad.

    Only 14 wins this season, which I gather is their worst season since it all started in 2010 - is that correct?


    I like the fact he has stated he wants to focus on the Road for the foreseeable future (Not sure if that means ditching Cyclo cross or still using that as a training aid) and if so, he'll need to be embedded within the right team to fulfill his obvious winning desire.

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  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,436

    I like Pidcock as a racer, but he seems to be demanding the team support afforded to a Pogacar or Vingegaard without having the results to justify it

  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,646

    That's a bit of a stretch to claim. We don't have any real insight into "the issues" or what Pidcock's gripe is. We know Bigham left unhappy, that there are questions about whether management have a plan (short or long term) and whether they can execute, about what the relationship between Pidcock and Cummings might be like (and what Cummings role is and why he's been working from home all summer). And that's about it.

    We can guess that Pidcock hasn't delivered what he was expected to, and that Pidcock doesn't feel he's been given the support/role that he believes he was promised and that nobody is happy with that. But we don't know exactly what was promised or what expectations there were for either side.

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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661

    Why, who else is winning at Ineos?

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661

    Ah, forgive me for not knowing a Romandie victory. A well known blackhole of mine.

    I can see why Pidcock is looking around the rest of the team and thinking "pfft, I deserve to be paid more and supported more than anyone else on this team"

  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,436

    Thomas, Arensman and Rodriguez have significantly better results in Grand Tours

  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,646

    Rodriguez, Narvaez, Ganna all have WT wins this season.

    Not many, but some. Recency bias (Rodriguez being rubbish in Vuelta and only 7th in the Tour) maybe obscures the fact he's a bloody good rider with significant development still to come. But it's been a crap season for them and it's tricky to see what the future looks like if hey don't have a grand plan in the wings

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  • What does he want more support to do? If it's to be a GC rider, then he needs to do something in a GC - either for himself or for someone else. I can't remember ever looking at him in a stage race and thinking "super domestique". Let alone "contender" - not really even "Ineos' best GC bet in the race".

  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,969
    edited September 10

    It's not clear to me, what exactly he was getting at.


    It could be any number of things.


    They are choosing the wrong races for him, the training methods are not up to scratch, their DS's are making poor decisions, etc etc

    He doesn't strike me as the kind of rider who wants support from his fellow team members if that makes sense.

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  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,286

    This. All evidence points to TP being good at one day races, or stage hunting. He is not a GC contender.

    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
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  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,544

    Ineos are ranked 6th in the UCI team rankings (4th in the PCS season rankings) so whilst the number of race wins is lower than you'd expect, they've been scoring a lot of points via good placings, especially in stage races.

    The team has evolved enormously, as they have clearly decided to develop young riders rather than recruiting proven race winners. This year I think they have twelve riders aged 25 or under, which is high for them.

    I think the jury is out on the success of this strategy - Rodriguez and Pidcock have done okay this year, but no one else seems to be standing out yet. When they do get a good young rider, and Ethan Hayter is the prime example, they don't seem to know quite what to do with them.

  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,249

    Looking at the Ineos squad for 2025, I don't see much of an uptick in numbers of wins and with 29 riders already contracted, if PCS is to be believed, there's not much scope for boosting the team with new signings.


  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,436

    Do you have this week's lottery numbers too? 😉

  • roscoe
    roscoe Posts: 525

    There's the thing, what does he want? He's got his own coach there so it can't be the training. There definitely seems to be an issue between him and Cummings. Given that Cummings hasn't been present since the spring, looks like he may be the loser.

    He's currently very good at One Day races, if he wants to be a GC contender, he may have to work towards this. He doesn't give the vibe of being a team player, so who knows if he'll want to do this.


    I think the next signing they make is a leader, someone in the Brailsford mould that will take control of the team. There doesn't seem to be anyone giving direction at all.

  • Probably wants to be allowed to wear the silly Red Bull hat in road races.