"At INEOS everyone is pulling the fire alarm now" - Lance Armstrong sends warning to Tom Pidcock and co
CyclingFriday, 13 September 2024 at 11:52
There's no hiding the fact that of late, the INEOS Grenadiers haven't been at the level expected. Some questionable transfer business, behind the scenes turmoil and a relative lack of standout results have seen them slip from world's best a few years ago, to also rans in 2024.
These concerns haven't gone unnoticed either. On the latest episode of Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel's The Move podcast, the topic of the underachieving INEOS Grenadiers was discussed. Like many in the cycling world, both also sees issues within the current set up at INEOS.
"Look at Thomas Pidcock, who is a great rider by the way. He earns 4 million a year. That's the entire annual budget of Equipo Kern Pharma and they win three stages in the Vuelta," notes the controversial Armstrong, referencing the fact that whilst results have diminished for INEOS in recent years, the budget hasn't. "Believe me, at INEOS everyone is pulling the fire alarm now. It's sad to see."
"Everyone used to look at Team Sky as the model for success. Every rider was eager to ride for that team, but now there are doubts as to whether it is the right place," adds Johan Bruyneel. "After Dave Brailsford left, it seems like there is no one in charge anymore. The soul has gone out of it. They have 15 team managers, but who is actually leading the team?"
"The fact that important people like Daniel Bigham and Rod Ellingworth are leaving INEOS is a sign to me," Bruyneel concludes. "There will have to be a thorough restructuring."
Pidcock himself recently touched on the issues and admitted all is not well at the moment. "Yes, it is true that there are a number of things within the team that I have to deal with at the moment. And to be honest, they do not help me to perform optimally," the Brit told HLN from the Tour of Britain.
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i like tom, definitely not a hater (of anyone, really), but at 25 he would need to get SO much better as a gc racer to even have an outside chance at a podium. Pog is 25, Remco 24, Jonas is the old man at 27. and there are loads of other guy’s that age range with gc upside, like matteo jorgensen, also 25. it’s extremely hard to see Pidcock finding something new in himself that allows him to break through all those guys. i agree with the alaphillipe comparison. pidcock needs to target specific races and stages that fit who he IS, not try to be something he’s just not genetically wired to be.
I see the haters are out in force tonight.
You believe Ineos is thriving?
No but that does not warrent the hate which they recieve. I think they have slipped back in the rankings and it will take time to recover if ideed they do but that is no real reason to hate them. Team Sky was hated simply because they were winners (although other teams won more races than they did) and they only really did well at the Tour. INEOS are not just disliked, they hated for some unkown reason. They are not that good, they don't win many races so why? Now I can understand disliking a team or a certain rider. I dislike UAE but do not hate them. It's the level of hate which is wrong. Their riders lay it on the line every time they race just like riders from the other teams but the other teams don't get anywhere near the same abuse. Why?
Sign one of the top three guys or shutdown and go home.
LA Doper...Pidcock will never challenge a GT win with or without Ineos until he gives up the in season mountain biking and focuses exclusively on road riding.
I think that it'd be very difficult for Tom to give up MTB, simply because of the fact that he's so good at it. It's almost a sure thing for him, whereas strictly focusing on the road, and taking on the role of a team leader is
definitely not.
Then he'll never reach his full potential as a road biker and teams should realize that whoever signs him going forward. He'll never challenge the likes of Jonas, Tadeg and Remco in any type of stage races, short of long, if he doesn't fully commit. He'll at best be a hopeful one day/one trick pony road rider at best.
That would be great to see, but I honestly just can't see that happening with him.
He will never challenge Pog, Jonas, or anyone else in a GT because he is not a GT racer. I've said it before, will say it again: he is Alaphilippe, not Geraint Thomas. He is a versatile rider who can win in multiple disciplines, but is not a climber on par with the top GC guys. His best bet for success isn't giving everything else up to be a GC guy, it's giving up being a GC guy to be everything else.
He's got the w/kg to ride with those guys, just not w/kg/21days. Oddly enough, that tends to be the easier attribute to attain. But he's go no shot unless he makes mountain biking a back of his mind event as he did with cyclocross last season
Who isn't doping?