Ineos Grenadiers is playing the long game in its quest to remain relevant in the “super team” landscape.
The British juggernaut squad confirmed Wednesday it will partner German Continental team Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank from 2025.
Ineos Grenadiers is pinning its hopes on the project unearthing the future Pogačars and Evenepoels who will put the team back on the Tour de France map.
Team performance director Scott Drawer sketched out what will be a collaborative partnership rather than a full take-over of the Lotto Kern-Haus team.
“Key riders will be selected and placed with the Lotto Kern-Haus team while still being coached and supported by Ineos Grenadiers staff,” Drawer said Wednesday. “We see this as a ‘finishing school’ for young talent before their transition to the WorldTour.
“The management and staff at Lotto Kern-Haus have really impressed us,” Drawer said. “We trust that this is going to be a fruitful and key partnership for the future.”
The partnership puts Inoes Grenadiers in line with the majority of its WorldTour rivals and reaffirms its commitment to youth development.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, UAE Team Emirates, Soudal Quick-Step, and Visma-Lease a Bike all have a junior or U23 project under their umbrellas.
Until now, Ineos Grenadiers ran an in-house support program for young riders like Josh Tarling and A.J. August but relied on a scouting network to bolster its increasingly youthful roster.
‘We are all determined to get back to the top step of the podium’
Ineos Grenadiers’ new partnership is part of a huge off-season shake-up in the team.
Performance brainiac Dan Bigham left the team this summer under a cloud of dissatisfaction at management ethos.
Lead sport director Steve Cummings confirmed his departure last week after reports of a long-term rift with star rider Tom Pidcock.
The team laid out a total redesign of its performance and directorial org chart in response. Kurt Asle Arvesen and Dr Billy Fitton were handed key roles as lead DS and head of engineering, respectively.
Behind the scenes, staffers somehow kept Pidcock on the bus after the rumor mill churned reports he would leave.
Team CEO John Allert sees his winter restructure as the start of a bold chapter for the once-mighty Sky-Ineos structure.
The Tour de France dominator of the last decade has been crowded out of post-pandemic racing by well-monied, slick-operating rivals like Team Visma and UAE Emirates.
The future-looking deal with Lotto Kern-Haus is another line in Allert’s attempt to re-write the narrative on his struggling “super team.”
“This is a team with a proud legacy of success. We are all determined to get back to the top step of the podium,” Allert said in a recent press statement.
“Our new performance structure and approach are key to building the next chapter for the team,” he said.
A total of 14 wins made 2024 the worst year of the Sky-Ineos empire.
Jim Ratcliffe’s cycling project now heads toward its December training camps with a full 30-rider roster, a new-look staff structure, and a freshly installed development pipeline.
Its hunt for a first Tour de France victory since Egan Bernal won yellow in 2019 begins now.
That’s a wrap on an incredible November Camp in Manchester ☑️
It’s the only opportunity we have in the season for our entire team to all be together. An important time to reflect, have fun and reset with a firm focus on 2025 pic.twitter.com/pIkYrAPeAT
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) November 7, 2024