Cycling: Ineos Grenadiers also fell short of the great triumphs of the past in 2024. Will everything be better next season thanks to the transfers?
 |
 |
Ineos Grenadiers 2024: Nothing half and nothing whole
Having slipped from fourth to seventh place, the Ineos Grenadiers team is still searching for a new identity in 2025. The great successes of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas are in the past. New paths that were taken after that more or less led to a dead end. thomas pidcock won the Amstel Gold Race, but once again had to accept that he is not a GC rider. Carlos Rodriguez After finishing fifth in the previous season, he missed the opportunity to take the next step this year with seventh place. Jonathan Narvaez and Filippo Gana saved the season with their stage wins at the Giro d'Italia. And veterans Geraint Thomas finished third in the overall standings. All of these results are strong, but they do not meet the expectations of the former flagship team.
Narvaez & Pidcock will be missing from the team
Last winter, there were rumors that the Ineos Grenadiers and Soudal – Quick-Step teams might merge. Nothing came of it. This plan has now been taken off the table. However, the British are still trying to lure Remco Evenepoel into the team. This plan is also doomed to failure. So the question is what the future of the team will look like. Jonathan Narvaez and tom pidcock Two of the strongest drivers are leaving the team. Ethan Hayter, Luke Rowe and Elia Viviani are turning their backs on Ineos Grenadiers. They certainly haven't achieved any major successes recently, but a piece of their identity is also lost with the end of their contract. The former mega-talent Leo Hayter will probably not be extended either.
Who will shape the Ineos Grenadiers team in the future?
In return, however – and this must be credited to the team management – promising talents are now being brought into the squad. Axel Laurance is the first to be mentioned here. The Frenchman is already at such a high level that he could win important races. Sprints and hilly classics are his speciality. samuel watson will get his chance as a sprinter. The signing of Peter Oxenberg. The Dane became famous through a YouTube video by the ColoQuick team. At the beginning of the year, the then 18-year-old and his teammates broke the record on the Coll de Rates – just like Jonas Vingegaard once did. The newcomers are not yet solid helpers. Victor Langelotti, Lucas Hamilton and Bob jungels the squad.