Ineos Grenadiers Season Preview: Transfers, Goals & TOUR Forecast for Ineos Grenadiers
Andreas Kublik
· 14.02.2023
Ineos Grenadiers: Flagship with a new course?
The Ineos Grenadiers' appeal is fading: In seven out of eight consecutive years (2012 to 2019), the racing team from Great Britain won the Tour de France under the sponsor names Sky and Ineos - thanks to Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome four times, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal; there were also overall victories by Froome and Bernal at the Giro and Vuelta. But the competition has become bigger and stronger - many teams are pursuing similarly sophisticated strategies. And the competition currently has the better individual riders.
How 2022 went
Things got off to a bad start: the serious training accident involving Tour winner Egan Bernal, who crashed into a bus at high speed in Colombia, shook the team and jeopardised their plans. Without the 2019 Tour winner, the year did not go as expected - especially in the Grand Tours. The former flagship among the Tour teams cannot be satisfied with the results: The ageing Geraint Thomas was unable to keep up with the attacks of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in France, Richard Carapaz found his champion in Bora pro Jai Hindley at the Giro and also played no part in the overall standings at the Vuelta. Nevertheless, Dylan van Baarle achieved the team's long-awaited first triumph at Paris-Roubaix.
The team collected a total of 39 victories this season - including Michal Kwiatkowski at the Amstel Gold Race and Daniel Felipe Martinez at the Tour of the Basque Country. Many positive headlines were made by the young MTB Olympic champion Tom Pidcock, who won the World Championship title in cyclocross, the European Championship title on the mountain bike and the Tour stage to Alpe d'Huez. Versatility was his trump card. In the autumn, Filippo Ganna's world hour record showed that the Brits can still have planned success. All in all, however, too little for the demands of the star ensemble spoilt by success.
Transfers at Ineos Grenadiers
The team has seen some bloodletting: The only notable reinforcement is Dutchman Thymen Arensman, who rode the last Giro in the jersey of DSM has shown that he has talent as a classics rider and in the battle against the clock.
In return, a number of key players have left the long-standing top team: Tour bronze medallist Richie Porte quit, Olympic champion and former Giro winner Richard Carapaz is hoping for a more important role with the team in the future. EF Education EasyPostDylan van Baarle will strengthen the Jumbo-VismaAdam Yates the other big rival UAE Team Emirates.
Additions and departures at a glance
New additions for the 2023 season
- Leo Hayter (Hagens Berman Axeon)
- Connor Swift (Arkea-Samsic)
- Thymen Arensman (Team DSM)
- Joshua Tarling
- Michael Leonard
Departures
- Richie Porte (end of career)
- Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlUla)
- Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma)
- Richard Carapaz (EF Education EasyPost)
- Andrey Amador (EF Education EasyPost)
- Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates)
The goals for 2023
Patron Sir David Brailsford's hopes are probably pinned on Bernal getting back to the absolute top of the world after his serious injuries. Pidcock should also continue his development and perhaps even become a contender for the overall classification of a grand tour. The MTB Olympic champion ended the cross season early in order to be in top form for the spring classics.
The Tour de France and the big World Cycling Championships in Glasgow in August are the next highlights. Geraint Thomas starts the Giro d'Italia as captain. Perhaps the 36-year-old's last attempt at an overall victory in a three-week tour? The numerous time trial kilometres and the lack of competition from Vingegaard and Pogacar should help with this project. Filippo Ganna should once again become a reference in the time trials.
TOUR forecast for Ineos Grenadiers
The team will not be able to fight its way back to the top of the classification teams in the new year. We can only hope that Bernal has not suffered any permanent damage as a result of his accident, which will prevent him from returning to the top of the tour specialists. The year 2023 will therefore also be a kind of rehab programme for the racing team. The many talents and strong all-rounders such as Kwiatkowski and Daniel Felipe Martinez could cause a furore in the classics. Forced to do so. In the absence of an outstanding top rider, the former Sky racing team has abandoned the one-captain strategy and has adapted to the more offensive riding style in the current peloton. All-rounder Ethan Hayter is on the verge of the final breakthrough - fast and strong in the fight against the clock.
It will be exciting to see how the many highly talented racing drivers around Ben Turner, Ben Tulett, Magnus Sheffield and Carlos Rodriguez develop. There is a lot of potential in the 30-man squad. The threat of doping proceedings against former team doctor Richard Freeman, which has been a sword of Damocles hanging over the racing team for years, is likely to cause new unrest.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
