“They dominated the sport” – Bradley Wiggins comments on INEOS Grenadiers’ fall and Tom Pidcock’s doubtful future
Sir Bradley Wiggins was one of the leading lights of Team Sky’s early days, cementing his place in cycling history as the first winner of the British Tour de France in 2012. He paved the way for the likes of Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart as Leaders of the UK-based team follow. In recent seasons, however, the now INEOS Grenadiers have had significantly more problems.
Speaking to respected cycling journalist Daniel Benson, Wiggins commented on the INEOS Grenadiers’ current difficulties, which culminated in a public row with star rider Tom Pidcock at the end of the 2024 season after senior management decided to remove the Olympic mountain bike champion from the team delete Il Lombardia lineup.
“They’re in pieces,” admits the 2012 Maillot Jaune winner. “Since Dave Brailsford took his foot off the gas and walked away it seems to have been a slow decline in that direction. Rod Ellingworth took over for a few years, but the peak came when they had all the money in the world and could eventually buy any driver. They dominated the sport. Pidcock and Geraint did great things, but it’s sad to see in many ways because it was once a huge British Empire.”
Recently, INEOS announced a revamp of its sporting director staff and even hinted that goals in 2025 could change from the traditional Team Sky/INEOS Grenadiers general classification-based goals to more day and stage hunt goals. “It can of course be repaired. In many ways it is probably a very similar situation to Manchester United (also owned by INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe, editor’s note). “It’s a huge club, a huge team, a great history and great drivers,” explains “Wiggo”.
“I know Steve Cummings hasn’t been with the team since June. I’ve heard many different stories as to why this is and it’s interesting that someone like Steve brought out some of the team’s best performances when Geraint finished third in the Tour. But they also experienced a very special year in cycling, in which one man was extremely dominant,” he adds, referring to Tadej Pogacar’s hugely successful 2024 season.
“Brailsford was involved in the whole thing when I was there and with all these characters and personalities, like me and Chris Froome, he pulled it off. “I couldn’t tell you who they’ve got now, but that’s all “A sign of how well Dave and everyone else has led this team?” says the 44-year-old, this complete change in the philosophy of winning Grand Tours. Then it was about racing hard and winning stages, but once you try to win Grand Tours, everything after that is really downhill.”
As previously mentioned, all concerns at Il Lombardia came to a head with Pidcock’s controversial deselection. “I’ve just spoken to a few people about it and read what Geraint Thomas said about it last week. Everyone’s just a bit of a puzzler, but I think Geraint summed it up pretty well when he said it’s more about the people around Pidcock,” comments Wiggins. “It’s a unique situation in cycling and I don’t think we’ve ever experienced this before. Especially someone of his quality after what he did in the summer. But I think his days at Ineos are now numbered. I can’t imagine how he can come back. I can imagine that the transfer will be on the horizon.”
=https://twitter.com/INEOSGrenadiers/status/1848779020722200711″ data-service=”twitter”>
