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."
Is INEOS looking into setting up a women's team?
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.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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