Netcompany INEOS DS promises to show a "different way of racing" throughout the 2026 Tour de France
Cycling
The 2026 Tour de France has not been a great Grand Tour for Netocompany INEOS so far. Following the team's failure to triumph in the opening team time trial despite a co-favorite status, it's been a downward trajectory with Kevin Vauquelin's 6th place from stage 4 breakaway the closest the team had come to a stage triumph so far.
It's quite reflective of the British team's entire 2026 campaign so far - a year kicked off with refreshed ambition thanks to the recruitments of Oscar Onley or Kevin Vauquelin, but an immediate letdown with Brit's injury causing him to miss the race while his French teammate has been victim to minor illness and poor luck so far.
Former long-time road captain at Movistar Team, Imanol Erviti, sits behind the steering wheel of Netcompany INEOS during the on-going Tour. The experienced Spaniard certainly isn't satisfied with how the race has gone so far, yet he doesn't give up on a better outcome in the remainder of the race.
"What motivates you are the memories of the good days," Erviti opens at MARCA when asked whether he misses being in the saddle himself: "Those days you do feel envious or want to be back there, but I'm past that stage, I've enjoyed it, and I feel fortunate for that," he explains.
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It all started in Barcelona
Starting with a team of several world's top time trialists; former world champions Filippo Ganna, Tobias Foss, and european champion Joshua Tarling among others, the British team was aiming high in the streets of Barcelona, but luck wasn't on their side when team leader Kevin Vauquelin suffered a mechanical problem, eventually costing the team a stage victory and yellow jersey by just 8 seconds.
"We came very close in the team time trial, which is a discipline where it's not easy for everything to go perfectly," Erviti refers to Vauquelin's problem. "It wasn't easy for us either, just like for many other teams. We were close, but we couldn't quite pull it off."
Filippo Ganna missed out on yellow jersey by 8 seconds
A different Tour
Oscar Onley was intended as Netcompany INEOS leader for the Tour, but with his absence, the general classification is no longer a focus for the British formation. Instead, Erviti would like to utilize the individual strengths of his rider - in particular their great engines - to find success in selected stages.
"It's a Tour with a slightly different approach from the team, not so much focused on the overall and that, but perhaps aiming for stage wins and a different way of racing," he emphasizes.
But it's undeniable that general classification battles are encoded deep in the team's DNA. Will they ever return to that 'Froome era'?
"We're working on it, and this is the project. We have to keep working hard because it's very difficult," he replies.
Particularly exciting will be the arrival of now junior in his second year Benjamín Noval. The 18-year-old's numbers are already WorldTour-level, but it'll be the British formation's job to transform this raw talent into a full-fledged GC contender who can match Tadej Pogacar... or Paul Seixas in the future.
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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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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