Netcompany INEOS making big moves in the market - Spanish Giro breakthrough on his way to the British team
CyclingMonday, 25 May 2026 at 09:57
Netcompany INEOS needs new leaders in a full rebuild that includes sponsor changes and a sporting reset, and Spanish cycling looks set to play a central role in that shift. Markel Beloki of EF Education-EasyPost has reportedly already agreed to join the team.
Thus, as first reported by Nacho Labarga in Marca, they have made a statement in the market by signing Markel Beloki, the 20-year-old talent currently racing the Giro d’Italia. With the son of the legendary Joseba Beloki and the upcoming Benjamín Noval, the British outfit secures the two most exciting young Spanish riders with the profile to target Grand Tour victories in the coming years.
Beloki, who turns 21 in July, joined EF in 2024 after developing at MMR Academy. So far his only wins came at the 2025 Tour Alsace, where he took a stage win at La Planche des Belles Filles and the overall triumph.
At the Giro he was fighting for the white jersey and a top 10 overall, although he faded slightly on stage 14 to Pila. It is his second Grand Tour after racing last year’s Vuelta a España. Without doubt this is a major step in his career, moving to one of the best teams in the world.
Markel Beloki, one of the youngest riders at the 2026 Giro d’Italia
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The best of Beloki’s career
Markel Beloki has built his pro career with steady progression since his direct jump to the World Tour with EF Education-EasyPost. His standout breakthrough came in 2025, when he won the overall at the Tour Alsace, adding a stage win and confirming his credentials for stage races. That year he also delivered two strong rides at the Vuelta a España, taking two stage top 10s (8th and 9th), already showing composure in demanding Grand Tour finales.
In 2026 he has taken another step as a GC-focused rider. He placed 13th at Itzulia Basque Country and 9th at the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain, and at the Giro d’Italia he rode a solid first half of the race with good climbing performance and one breakaway time gain which saw him briefly in the race's Top10. A climber in development, who has a lot of potential for the future.
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- Why must it be humble, just let it be “your” opinion. Humble adds nothing to nor takes anything away from your statement.
Andrew25-05-2026 - The circuit was made for a group to stay away. If you watched the race we saw several teams blocked the head of the race to prevent anybody getting away. Those four slipped through though. What amazes me is the power those four had. Those four are just team riders not team leaders, The power ouput of the average pro racer is incredibly high these days, and as we saw should never be understimated.Cyclingsbestfan25-05-2026
- The noise and the people - Yes everybody hates them except the half-wit knuckle draggers who light them and you.Andrew25-05-2026
- I see both sides of the argument. He is a tour rider purely unlike Pog. I think that is what people see as the issue. He is a quiet family man who probably still has flashbacks from his horrendous crash in Basque country. His PR team could do more bit the results speak for themselves .paultryan200225-05-2026
- Sour grapes from sprinters teams. If they were that worried they should have kept the break in check from the start.paultryan200225-05-2026
- I just find it a little hard to believe that an entire peloton (which will also have several bikes in front of it) can't collectively use less energy than a breakaway group - unless the chasing teams are not sharing the workload fairly, and just letting one team sit in the wind burning through it's members, while the breakaway works turns effectively.antipodeanpedalfan25-05-2026
- totally disagree. first, your framing (i and others said in real time ...) lends your opinion about as much credibility as any other contrasting opinion by whoever. fact is, with 40 km to go they had less than 2 min to the leaders. normally a piece of cake, a done thing, an easy catch for the peloton. second, i saw several teams pacing at this point in the peloton, lidl-trek, quickstep, rose rockets, just to name a few. they burned most of their sprint trains until 10 km to go, which obviously does not happen if they are not working. it actually usually never happens because then there are no sprint trains left for the finish. i cannot think of any other reason how this can happen if not something odd (e.g. 'motopacing') going on in the front. but maybe your hypothesis of a lame excuse and no work in the peloton is more reasonable ...Ketterechts25-05-2026
- I and others said in real time that the sprint teams were not getting it right. They had a bit of second-group syndrome going on ("no, YOU chase"), and Decathlon in particular was nearly invisible. They might have gotten away with it, but the 4 guys in the break kept working until the very end, even got a lead out from the team that had two riders up front. That is why they won, not the moto.MidnightRider25-05-2026
- I think that it's far too easy to label these riders as whiners or complainers making up excuses. These are professionals who know a thing or two about what it takes to chase down the break, and I think that they have a valid point. I've seen numerous races where the leading rider(s) have a motorcycle directly in front of them, trying to get that perfect shot, but it does create a draft as well as a slightly unfair advantage.
santiagobenites25-05-2026 - It is the lamest of excuses. This was lost by a group of sprint teams that chose not to work when the time came, and won by a breakaway that continued working right to the end. Yes, there were motos ahead of the lead riders; there were also motos ahead of the chasers and everywhere else. That is true of every race, and nothing that happened today was meaningfully different from any other race. The top teams just got it wrong, and paid for it when the break didn't come apart.MidnightRider25-05-2026
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