ANALYSIS | The resurrection of the INEOS Grenadiers: Does a strong start to 2025 signal return to top of the cycling world?

The INEOS Grenadiers have transitioned from being the world’s best cycling team, a dominant force in Grand Tours, to a squad making questionable sporting decisions over the last few years. In 2024, they hit a low point with mediocre results considering their considerable budget. However, the British team seems to have found a new energy as 2025 kicks off.

The departure of Tom Pidcock has undoubtedly affected them on a purely sporting level, but from the outside, it seems the team has a fresher, more cohesive feel, with fewer internal tensions. With the talent they have at their disposal, they appear to be finding their stride again.

So far, the start of the season has been quite promising for them, and more importantly, we're seeing them race like a dominant, winning team again, even though they still lack a true GC contender for the Grand Tours. That said, Geraint Thomas in his final professional year, and Carlos Rodríguez, now without Pidcock demanding attention, are performing at a high level. This season, they have claimed victories in the Colombian Championships with Egan Bernal, the Clasica Jaén Paraíso Interior with Michal Kwiatkowski, and 3 WorldTour stage wins: Joshua Tarling in the UAE time trial, Filippo Ganna in Tirreno, and Magnus Sheffield in the final stage of Paris-Nice.

It’s in these two latter races, Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice, where we’ve seen INEOS dominant once more. In Tirreno, they led the race with an exceptional Filippo Ganna, who, although he didn’t win, finished second, narrowly beaten by Juan Ayuso. Watch out for his form in Milano-Sanremo.

In Paris-Nice, they were incredibly active, attacking in all the mountain stages, and on the fifth stage, they, along with Team Jumbo-Visma, shattered the race in crosswinds. They ultimately finished with 3 top-10s, and a podium for Thymen Arensman.

As we said, this isn't the INEOS of the Froome era, but it’s starting to look like it again. Ganna himself is clear about the team’s ambition, as he said after Tirreno-Adriatico: “As a team, we want to be the number one in the world again. It’s a long road, it will take time, but we’re going to try to improve and climb higher. It’s a long year, but we’ve started quite well.”