"It was entirely his fault!" - Sir Jim Ratcliffe recalls almost re-breaking Chris Froome's leg during casual ride in Corsica
Cycling
One of Britain's richest men, Sir Jim Ratcliffe owns a number of sporting icons including Manchester United, OGC Nice and the INEOS Grenadiers and as a guest on the latest episode of the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club Podcast, the 71-year-old opened up on various topics.
One such story was a humorous tale that could've been so much worse from when Ratcliffe joined his then-superstar team leader, Chris Froome on a casual ride in Corsica. "I was cycling along with Chris and I was on the inside and he was on the outside," recalled Ratcliffe to Thomas. "But you guys cycle really close together don't you? We don't do that because we're not as skilful on a bike. His handlebars were only 6" from mine whereas normally it'd be a metre."
"He still had his broken leg, he was still only half recovered so his leg was a mess. He was cycling one-legged really, so I winced as I went past some shrubbery and then before I knew it, I was sailing over the handlebars," continues the INEOS owner with a hearty laugh. "I just missed Chris' front wheel! It was entirely his fault! But I was so close to re-breaking his leg."
At both Manchester United and the INEOS Grenadiers, Ratcliffe is in need of a rebuild as the team's search to reclaim past glories. When Thomas asks his boss if he'd rather sign Kylian Mbappe for United or Tadej Pogacar for INEOS, Ratcliffe is diplomatic in his response.
"What I would rather do is find the next Mbappe, rather than spend a fortune just trying to buy success," he says, perhaps eluding to INEOS Grenadiers' future transfer plans. "It's not that clever is it, buying Mbappe? Anyone could figure that one out, but what is more challenging is to find the next Mbappe or the next Jude Bellingham or the next Roy Keane."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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🚨🔴 Sir Jim Ratcliffe: “Mbappé to Man United? I’d try to find the next Mbappé rather than spend a fortune trying to buy success”. “It’s not that clever to sign Mbappé now, it’s more challenging to find the next Mbappé, next Bellingham or next Roy Keane”, told @GTCyclingClub.
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