ANALYSIS: Vauquelin, Bernal and the riders driving INEOS Grenadiers’ early 2026 revival

The first quarter of the 2026 season is not yet complete, but it is already possible to draw some early conclusions about how the year is unfolding. One team attracting particular attention is INEOS Grenadiers, who appear to be showing signs of recovery after a difficult period in recent seasons.

Looking at the current individual UCI rankings, several riders in the British team’s squad have made a strong start to the campaign. New signings such as Kevin Vauquelin, Dorian Godon and Oscar Onley have already delivered encouraging results, while Egan Bernal also sits among the team’s best performers so far.

Spanish climber Carlos Rodriguez, meanwhile, has found things more difficult in the early months of the season and currently sits further down the internal ranking.

Below are the five INEOS riders who have collected the most UCI points so far in 2026.

The 24 year old Frenchman began his season at the Volta ao Algarve, producing consistent performances throughout the race. He finished 24th on stage one, 9th on stage two, 6th in the individual time trial, 29th on stage four and again 9th on the final stage.

That consistency meant he finished inside the top 30 on every stage. He also placed 13th in the mountains classification, 19th in the points competition and 5th overall in the general classification. Only riders such as Juan Ayuso, Paul Seixas, Joao Almeida and teammate Oscar Onley finished ahead of him in the final standings.

His next race was Paris-Nice, which finished just two days ago. Vauquelin started quietly with results of 32nd and 28th on the opening stages. The INEOS Grenadiers team dominated the team time trial, helping him move up to second place overall at one point in the race. On the stage to Uchon, he finished sixth after spending 57 kilometres at the front, although that effort cost him two positions in the battle for the yellow jersey.

He eventually held fourth place overall until the finish, after placing seventh twice, eighteenth and fourth during the second half of the race.

Only Jonas Vingegaard, Daniel Felipe Martinez and Georg Steinhauser finished ahead of him. Steinhauser in particular, was just 17 seconds quicker, which denied Vauquelin a podium finish and the young rider classification.

Godon has raced exclusively in France so far this season. His campaign began at the Tour de la Provence, where stage results of 16th, 45th and 19th left him 42nd overall.

He then finished 93rd at the Faun Ardeche Classic and 6th at the Faun Drome Classic, beaten by riders including Romain Gregoire, Matteo Jorgenson, Lenny Martinez, Quinten Hermans and Paul Lapeira.

At Paris-Nice, however, Godon delivered one of the standout performances of his early season. He finished 14th in Carrieres sous Poissy, 4th in Montargis, helped INEOS win the team time trial, and then later took second place in Apt behind Harold Tejada. His biggest moment came with victory on the stage to Isola.

Godon eventually finished 39th overall and second in the points classification, beaten only by Jonas Vingegaard.

The 23-year-old American opened his season at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. He placed 14th in Torreblanca, 6th in the individual time trial, 16th in San Vicente del Raspeig, again 6th in Teulada Moraira and 29th on the final stage in Valencia.

His consistent performances earned him 22nd in the points classification, 10th in the mountains classification and 3rd in the young rider standings. Sheffield also finished 6th overall, behind riders such as Remco Evenepoel, Joao Almeida, Giulio Pellizzari, Antonio Tiberi and Brandon McNulty.

There was little to note at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where he crossed the line in 111th position.

He produced a stronger showing at Tirreno-Adriatico, starting with fourth place in the opening time trial after an impressive team performance from INEOS that placed three riders inside the top four. Across the week, he recorded stage finishes of 19th, 68th, 42nd, 13th, 8th and 26th, finishing 9th overall.

Riders ahead of him in the general classification included Isaac del Toro, Matteo Jorgenson, Giulio Pellizzari, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Primoz Roglic, Giulio Ciccone, Santiago Buitrago and Ben Healy.

Australian sprinter Sam Welsford, who joined from Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, has also made a solid start to the year.

He began with the Oceania racing block, winning the Western Australia Criterium Championships, finishing second in the national championships criterium and placing 32nd in the Australian road race before starting the Santos Tour Down Under.

At the WorldTour race, he won the stage in Nairne, finished third in Tanunda behind Tobias Lund Andresen and Matthew Brennan, and also placed third in the points classification. He later won the Cadel Evans Criterium, although he did not finish the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

After returning to Europe, he rode the UAE Tour, with stage results of 9th, 14th and 3rd on the final stage, where he finished behind Jonathan Milan and Erlend Blikra.

His most recent race was Tirreno Adriatico, where he placed 15th on stage one, 6th on stage three and second on the final stage behind Milan, eventually finishing 10th in the points classification.

Although Egan Bernal has raced only three days so far in 2026, he has already collected 180 UCI points. He finished fifth in the Colombian national time trial before winning the Colombian national road race title.

His only other race of the season so far has been the Faun Ardeche Classic, where he finished seventh, behind Paul Seixas, Jan Christen, Lenny Martinez, Matteo Jorgenson, Mattias Skjelmose and Davide Piganzoli.