INEOS Grenadiers enters the junior scene as a partner of a new men's & women's U19 project

The 2026 season is an important milestone for INEOS Grenadiers as, after a nearly decade-long wait, the British super-team launched its own development team - the INEOS Grenadiers Racing Academy. And not only that, the pathway to WorldTour will become more straightforward than ever as Ineos will also partner up with junior team Camsmajaco which was birth from a merger of UK's two biggest junior programmes; Tofauti and Fenshaw.

"The merger between the two teams ensures that there’s a British set-up that’s able to compete with the very best resourced and funded junior teams in the world. We have the support from a financial, educational and equipment point of view that puts our riders on a level playing field with any of the WorldTour-funded junior teams," team manager Ian Mansel-Thomas said at the team’s launch.

Mansel-Thomas will be joined in his role by Giles Pidcock, the father of Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling professionals Tom and Joe, who have both grown up in the Fenshaw structure.

This merger involves not only men's, but also women's teams. While for young ladies there's no clear pathway to WorldTour with Ineos lacking a female counterpart, for them this is also a great project: "Bringing that level of support to the junior women puts them right at the front of the pack. They will probably be the best-supported junior women’s team in the world now. That can only be a good thing for British and Irish talent."

That's probably still a long way to go. But by building the infrastructure from bottom up is a lovely way to build a meaningful project.

"I’m really proud that we’re the first women’s team that they supported anywhere in the world. That’s really important for us, and it’s a really good sign of Ineos’ plans for the future. It’s good to see. They’ve had their challenges over the last few years, and it’s good to see them take a long-term view of how they can get back to where they’ve been," Mansel-Thomas said.

"For us to be that trusted partner in the UK is a massive validation and a sign that we’ve done things right over the years. It will help the riders. It’s an inspiration for them because that’s what they aspire to be part of."

Next to Mansel-Thomas and Pidcock, the women's team will have another key figure behind the steering wheel in Alice Wood. The former professional retired in 2024 with two national road titles from 2019 and a wealth of experience of participation in the 2nd edition of Tour de France Femmes.

"The role is a DS and mentor. I was a DS last year but was only able to get to a couple of races because of other work with commentary. In my mentor role, I’ll be working with three of the girls and one of the boys to pass on my knowledge and be a familiar face so they can ask questions, because that’s what junior riders need to do. I’ll be that person that I hope that they can reach out to," she said.

"The fact that this is a junior team really made me want to do it because it feels like there’s a lot of knowledge that I can pass on to the riders. I can give a lot back, and a lot of people have helped me in my career and I wanted to give back as much as possible," Wood concluded.

The men's junior team consists of 11 names including a 2027 Lidl-Trek Future Racing recruit Leon Atkins. The women's lineup features 10 faces in its innaugural year with national road champion Ruby Isaac set to lead the way.