CyclingUpToDate Podcast: "Tell your riders to lose time so they can go on breakaways and win stages" - The Netcompany INEOS question at the Tour de France
CyclingSaturday, 11 July 2026 at 23:30
Netcompany INEOS have thus far not achieved a meaningful result at the 2026 Tour de France, and the team is struggling. On the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rúben Silva and Carlos Silva have discussed the team's tactical ambiguity and whether it is worth it to support Egan Bernal's overall classification ambitions.
INEOS' choice: GC or stages?
"INEOS is a strong team but they don't have a true leader without Oscar Onley and Carlos Rodríguez," Carlos Silva argued regarding the Tour plans. "The team is weaker, the biggest issue here for me is obvious: INEOS don't have a rider capable of matching Pogacar or Vingegaard".
Onley crashed at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and was ruled out of the Tour, whilst the team decided not to take Carlos Rodríguez as a consequence as well. At the Grand Depart, the plan looked to be to to go all-in for stage wins.
That has not been the case, as Geraint Thomas himself confirmed Thymen Arensman was eyeing the overall classification after doing so at the Giro d'Italia. After the Dutchman cracked on the stage to the Col du Tourmalet, Egan Bernal has emerged as a Top10 contender.
"Over the three weeks, Bernal has shown flashes of his old climbing legs but he is no longer the rider who won the Tour in 2019. Thymen Arensman remains a very solid Grand Tour rider, but yet he looks more capable of fighting for a Top10 or a stage victory than a place on the podium".
"That doesn't make the Tour de France a failure, it simply changes the objective. Instead of trying to defend the sixth or seventh place on GC, INEOS have freedom".
Thus far Vauquelin has not been far on stage 4, whilst the team has otherwise been absent from the action with the exception of the stage 1 team time trial. The likes of Filippo Ganna and Joshua Tarling have also not been chasing wins thus far; whilst Dorian Godon has not shown the form he has had in previous races when it came to the sprint stages.
"Honestly, I have said this multiple times, and I think everyone has said this and it's super clear: INEOS should go for stage wins," Rúben Silva pushed. "I think Bernal might climb to the Top10 at some point. I think it's also very hard to see him finish there".
The Colombian achieved that at the Giro d'Italia, where he was put on a domestique role for Thymen Arensman and was not given freedom to chase his own individual results. At the Tour, he currently sits 11th - heavily influenced by the loss of three minutes on stage 1, which indicated GC was not a plan.
But the team's ambitions and plan continue to change as the race moves forward, whilst the duo are not in agreement as to whether the team is putting their men to their best use or not.
"First of all, the Top10 for INEOS means little. For Bernal personally I understand maybe it will be important, but he has also won the Tour in the past. I think winning a stage is more important honestly".
Read also
Have INEOS avoided putting their riders in stage-hunting roles?
With Bernal chasing GC, the ability for him to chase stage wins is not as high, as both lack of freedom and accumulation of fatigue may play a role in his performances over the coming weeks. But for Rúben Silva, the call should've been made at the start of the race already.
"And Bernal is looking good, yesterday was a very positive surprise, I didn't expect him to ride so well. He should be, like Arensman should be, like all of them should be... From stage 2 onwards, when you see that the GC battle was blowing up and they have no chances, it's almost the sports director's job - and I am almost beginning to blame them - to tell your riders to lose time so they can go on breakaways and win stages. Because INEOS need to win stages," he puts it bluntly.
So far that has not happened, and the competition is difficult to match for the British team. But with a budget of €50 million, it is unanimous that the team has that obligation in the sport's biggest event.
"They need to win at least one stage. It is still early, but yeah they are not doing what they should be doing: Chase stages. Bernal actually seems to be their best weapon, and he is using up his energy to fight for a result that means a lot less".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Yes, it gets hotter as the afternoon progresses. Which is why it's unfortunate that the stage will be starting later than scheduled, wasting the less-hot part of the afternoon.Hills3311-07-2026
- Then do like most spectators at amateur races, just hang around at the finish.Jumpyjohn11-07-2026
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- Slashed by 30km? More like timidly trimmed. The riders will still be out there during the hottest hours, from 2 to 5 pm.Hills3311-07-2026
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