“No regrets at the end” – INEOS Grenadiers reborn at Giro d’Italia 2025

The third week of the 2025 Giro d’Italia is underway, and amidst the high drama of GC battles and headline grabbing stage wins, one team has quietly (and somewhat unexpectedly)emerged as one of the stars of the show: INEOS Grenadiers.

Yes, you read that right.

The team once known for their methodical, metronomic control of Grand Tours, the “marginal gains” era of Froome, Thomas, and Wiggins, is back in the spotlight, but in a very different form. In 2025, INEOS have reinvented themselves, swapping spreadsheet racing for chaos. From Josh Tarling’s victory on stage 2 to Egan Bernal’s relentless attacks in the mountains, this team is racing with freedom, fun, and a newfound unpredictability.

Cycling News have been able to go behind the scenes, and speak to two riders about what is making INEOS tick at the Giro. For Joshua Tarling and Ben Turner, both making their Giro debuts, it’s been a transformative experience, and one underpinned by friendship.

Unfortunately, Cycling News actually spoke to Tarling before the start of stage 16, which is taking place right now. If you are following along with our live blog, you will know that Tarling has suffered a nasty crash and had to abandon the race.

Still, he has made his impact on this race. Let’s find out more about what he and Turner have experienced in this grand tour with INEOS.

“We always do the same kind of races, and the last few years we've always done the grim ones together, like Paris-Nice, and last year we did a lot of the Tour build-up together,” Tarling explains. “And we always do a similar job in those races, so it's kind of clicked.”

“I guess we're just close, aren't we?” Turner adds. “And as Josh says, we spend so much time racing together – to be fair, this year I don't remember the last day that I didn't see you. Even at home, we were all day together. So it's super nice, it's much better like this than just being quiet or not speaking.”

Their chemistry off the bike has translated directly into effectiveness on it. Having a trusted teammate around makes long days in the saddle, especially in a Grand Tour, infinitely more bearable.

“It's a lot easier, because you're not alone,” Tarling says. “In the Vuelta last year, obviously I knew everybody, but it's different, you know? Especially this week, when you get tired, it's just nice to be around your friends.”

“In the build-up it helps too, because when you're doing it alone, you don't really have much of a reference or any back-up or anything like that, so it's nice to go through it with somebody else, and then come to the race and do the same job and work off each other.”

That doesn’t mean the advice always sticks, “I tried to give him tips, but I don't think he listened,” Turner laughs.

“You told me to sleep,” Tarling chimes in.

“I told him to sleep, yeah, and eat a lot, and just save as much as he can every day, and then I see him not doing that, so he's obviously not listening. But obviously he's a much better rider than me, so I can't really teach him that much.”

Still, what they’ve built is trust, crucial in a sport where split second decisions can shape races and careers.

“When you spend so much time with someone… we've done so many races together now, especially this year, you know what each other can and can't do, what they will and won't do,” Turner explains. “So you just have trust in each other and you have faith in the other person, and then you can really say 'Okay, I'm tired, can you do that, and we'll change', and we'll try and we'll always do the maximum that we can.”

They’re not just surviving the Giro though, they’re lighting it up.

“When we went on that descent the other day, and stuff like that, that really suits us,” Tarling says. “Because you could save us for the final week, but you'd only get so much out of us, whereas on stuff like that, where we don't have to use too many guys, it works out perfectly for us. I'll go or Ben will do two minutes full, and then we get out of the way and tap in it, get a bit of rest, but knowing we've exploded the race quite quickly.”

That disruptive energy has been key to INEOS’s new approach. Gone are the days of pacing the peloton into submission. Now it’s about embracing unpredictability.

“That's really what it's about, just making the most of everything, trying everything, exploring every option within the race, and having no regrets at the end of any race,” Turner says. “Maybe sometimes you're like 'oh, we shouldn't have done that'. We may try to make too much, but at a certain point, you can also look at it the other way and think when we do these things and it does work, then that's a positive.”

At the heart of this shift is Egan Bernal, who’s been the team’s most animated rider in the mountains.

“It's really good, because it's Egan who's pushing the race a lot, which is exciting,” Tarling says. “And obviously Thymen is flying. So it's exciting, it feels like we're properly in the race, and it's always nice to feel like you can play a role with them as well.”

And the morale in the camp? Unmistakably upbeat, “I think in the race, we all have similar vibes, we want to race, but then it's nice off the bike as well. Everyone's a similar age, it's a nice environment, on the kitchen truck, everyone's chatting, and it just works.”

While both Tarling and Turner are pegged as future Classics heavyweights, they’ve come to appreciate the rhythm and camaraderie of Grand Tour life.

“It's way better here,” Tarling laughs. “Flanders and them lot is horrible, you've got to race all the way to the line, whereas here, when you're dropped, you're like 'well, I've got tomorrow'.”

Turner agrees. “To be honest, it's just been a really nice group and I've enjoyed all of it really. Just making the most of every day on the bike, and really enjoying racing the bike. Then to be fair, when Josh won, I was screaming in the car in Albania, so that's quite nice, I'll go with that.”

Of course, there have been scary moments too. “I'm tired,” Tarling says. “Also, Ben's crash yesterday, I think that was the most scary moment.”

“Yeah, you've just reminded me, that hurt a bit actually,” Turner adds. “Yeah, we'll go with that.”

And when the Giro finally ends? Some well earned rest… together, naturally. “Not a lot, chill, see the dog,” Tarling says, whilst Turner is more focussed on food, “We're going to have a barbecue, aren't we?”