INEOS Grenadiers Archives

‘All I’m thinking about now is the Giro’ – Thomas focused on first Grand Tour of the season

April 16, 2024

Geraint Thomas said that all he is, “thinking about now is the Giro,” as he discussed the forthcoming Grand Tours this season.

Thomas is to compete at the Tour of the Alps in preparation for the upcoming Italian Grand Tour, the first of the season.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider was asked if he was taking into account the Tour de France as he readied himself for the season, and he told WielerFlits that his main focus was on the Giro.

“Slightly but I guess all I’m thinking about now is the Giro,” Thomas said. “I tried to take it a bit steadier in the build-up and then we deal with the ‘after the Giro’ after the Giro.

“Obviously [last year’s Giro d’Italia] didn’t end the best way but with the start of the season I had I think it was still a good one, but we’ll see what this year brings.”

Thomas came second last year, behind Primoz Roglic, and led the race for eight days before being usurped by the Slovenian after a time trial, but last year he was suffered from a UTI infection.

This time, he appears healthier in the run-up to the event.

He said his form is, “slightly better hopefully. I have had a bit more consistency so looking forward to a good one.

“It’s good timing you know, with two weeks after this until the start of the Giro just to fine-tune things. But a good, hard five days of racing in the mountains is always good.”

Discussing tactics for the Tour of the Alps, Thomas was circumspect in his ambitions as he looked to discover how well set he was.

“Similar to last year, we’re looking forward to it. Some good hard racing, it’s certainly a tough race with the climbs and things, so yeah it should be a good one,” he answered.

“I’ll take what I can, every race you want to get the best result so we’ll see how the legs are and take any opportunity as they come.”

‘All I’m thinking about now is the Giro’ – Thomas focused on first Grand Tour of the season

April 16, 2024

Geraint Thomas said that all he is, “thinking about now is the Giro,” as he discussed the forthcoming Grand Tours this season.

Thomas is to compete at the Tour of the Alps in preparation for the upcoming Italian Grand Tour, the first of the season.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider was asked if he was taking into account the Tour de France as he readied himself for the season, and he told WielerFlits that his main focus was on the Giro.

“Slightly but I guess all I’m thinking about now is the Giro,” Thomas said. “I tried to take it a bit steadier in the build-up and then we deal with the ‘after the Giro’ after the Giro.

“Obviously [last year’s Giro d’Italia] didn’t end the best way but with the start of the season I had I think it was still a good one, but we’ll see what this year brings.”

Thomas came second last year, behind Primoz Roglic, and led the race for eight days before being usurped by the Slovenian after a time trial, but last year he was suffered from a UTI infection.

This time, he appears healthier in the run-up to the event.

He said his form is, “slightly better hopefully. I have had a bit more consistency so looking forward to a good one.

“It’s good timing you know, with two weeks after this until the start of the Giro just to fine-tune things. But a good, hard five days of racing in the mountains is always good.”

Discussing tactics for the Tour of the Alps, Thomas was circumspect in his ambitions as he looked to discover how well set he was.

“Similar to last year, we’re looking forward to it. Some good hard racing, it’s certainly a tough race with the climbs and things, so yeah it should be a good one,” he answered.

“I’ll take what I can, every race you want to get the best result so we’ll see how the legs are and take any opportunity as they come.”

Ratcliffe calls for ‘real action’ to combat ‘serious’ safety issues in cycling

April 12, 2024

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has called for “real action” to be taken to protect professional cyclists from accidents ahead of the Grand Tour season.

The Ineos Grenadiers CEO penned an open letter, released on Friday, which highlighted the safety issues seen in the sport of late.

The Danish cyclist suffered several substantial injuries, including a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a collapsed lung in an incident that also involved Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic.

Jay Vine, who was also involved in the crash, sustained three spinal fractures and is now walking after avoiding life-changing injuries, while it remains to be seen how long Vingegaard’s recovery will take.

“As we prepare for the start of the grand tour season, we really need to address the issue of safety in professional cycling,” Ratcliffe wrote.

“In Formula 1, when Ayrton Senna had his fatal crash 30 years ago in Italy, the governing body set out to transform the safety regulations of one of the world’s most dangerous sports and significantly reduced injuries as a result.

“This contrasts starkly with cycling where, until now, governing bodies have made very few changes and serious accidents are a common occurrence.

“As recently as last week, we had yet another horrific crash involving three of the world’s top cyclists, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic.

“Even whilst training, top riders are at serious risk, indeed INEOS Grenadiers have had two horrendous accidents in recent years both involving Tour de France winners.

“Chris Froome experienced a compound fracture of his femur on a recon ride and Egan Bernal broke his neck and many other bones on a training ride.

“Both were lucky to be able to even get back on a bike.”

Ratcliffe recognised and praised the UCI’s decision to introduce the formation of ‘SafeR’, announced in June, which is “a specialist entity to oversee all aspects of cycling safety”.

However, Ratcliffe wants more action to be taken to minimise the risk of further “horrendous” incidents.

“Cyclists are always going to push things to the limit as they are elite sportsmen and that is why action is so important,” Ratcliffe added.

“For the first time, the sport will have a dedicated safety body whose sole concern is to make the sport safer, reducing the risks to riders and spectators whilst losing none of the thrill of racing.

“This is what Formula 1 has done so well over the past 30 years and I would hope that we will now see the same in cycling.

“I applaud the UCI for taking the issues on board and agreeing to support the establishment of SafeR. We now need to see real action to ensure the safety of the sport.”

Stream top cycling action, including all three Grand Tours, live on discovery+

Pidcock says Paris-Roubaix ‘a completely different beast’ after top-20 finish on debut

April 8, 2024

Tom Pidcock admitted that Paris-Roubaix is a “completely different beast” as he revealed he couldn’t hold his handlebars by the time the race reached its conclusion.

Famous for its formidable cobbles, the one-day event is not for the faint-hearted.

And that meant Pidcock was content with coming in the top 20 as he stepped up to the senior race for the first time.

“It’s not bad,” he said, per GCN. “It was pretty epic to be fair.

“I mean I couldn’t hold my handlebars at the end, that was my biggest problem.”

Pidcock, a cross-country Olympic champion in Tokyo three years ago, has previously won the junior and under-23 editions of Paris-Roubaix, so he was not a novice when it came to the course.

And he felt racing with the seniors was a much tougher prospect than what he has previously experienced.

“It’s a completely different beast I think, the speed was pretty incredible,” he said.

“The race was split from the first sector really, in bits. It was just a day out, to be honest, there’s not really much more I could have done.

“At the end of the day, the weight comes into play and there’s only so much power I have.”

But does completing the famous race bolster his chances of lifting the cobble trophy in future?

“I think it’s more difficult now having done it,” he admitted.

‘Could have ended his season’ – Breakaway team on ‘ridiculous’ Van der Poel cap throwing incident

Stream top cycling action, including all three Grand Tours, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

‘Most special one-day race of the year!’ – Pidcock can’t wait for Paris-Roubaix

April 6, 2024

Tom Pidcock will make his professional Paris-Roubaix debut after recovering from a crash earlier this week.

He later shared that he had injured his hip and could not bear weight on it, but initial scans showed no fractures.

Pidcock has now been announced as a last-minute addition to Ineos Grenadiers’ line-up for Paris-Roubaix, with the men’s race shown live on Eurosport and discovery+ on Sunday.

“I recovered really quickly, did some more scans until I was confident nothing was wrong,” Pidcock said in a video shared by Ineos Grenadiers on social media.

“A bit of pain’s no problem. I actually had quite a good week training, I didn’t miss too much.”

Pidcock is yet to compete at Paris-Roubaix as a professional, but he has won the race twice at a youth level.

He triumphed at Paris-Roubaix Juniors in 2017, before winning the under-23 race in 2019.

“Roubaix is probably my favourite race of all,” Pidcock said. “I haven’t done it as a pro yet, so I’m excited.

“It’s the romance of it, the passion, the cobbles and the way luck plays a part in the race. It’s the most special one-day race of the year.”

Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel is among the favourites for tomorrow’s race, alongside his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Jasper Philipsen.

The Dutch rider warned his rivals yesterday that the best is still to come for his Alpecin-Deceuninck team.

How to watch Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Roubaix Femmes

You can watch all of the action from Paris-Roubaix live on discovery+.

Coverage of the women’s race starts at 14:00 UK time on Saturday, April 6.

The men’s race gets underway at 09:30 UK time on Sunday, April 7.

Stream top cycling action, including Paris-Roubaix, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

Pidcock out of Itzulia Basque Country after suffering injury in recon crash

April 1, 2024

Tom Pidcock has withdrawn from the Itzulia Basque Country after being taken to hospital following a crash on a practice run ahead of the opening individual time trial.

Britain’s Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) was set to be one of the early starters on Stage 1 of the race.

However, he wasn’t able to race after crashing and is now set to head home for recovery.

A statement from Ineos Grenadiers said: “Tom Pidcock has unfortunately been withdrawn from #Itzulia2024 after crashing during a recon of the TT course.

“Following consultation between our team doctor and the race medical team, Tom has been taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.”

Pidcock explained what had happened in a social media video later in the day.

“I crashed in the recon this morning, the wind took me out in a corner on the circuit and I hit my hip really hard, and it can’t bear weight at all,” he said.

“I’m going home now. I had some scans and they didn’t show anything but we’ll keep looking over the next few days because it doesn’t feel very nice.”

“It’s great and my legs obviously were good. I felt strong,” said Roglic.

“I made a bit of a mistake at the end, then I corrected it and luckily it was still enough.”

“Everything went well until 200 metres but then I went on the ground, so a bit of a silly moment, my own mistake maybe,” he said.

“Of course, I was hoping to be a bit ahead today, but my crash was unlucky and this caused me to be a bit behind.”