“They’re house dogs now” – Bruyneel scolds INEOS Grenadiers

Johan Bruyneel and Spencer Martin, in their latest episode of The Move, offered sharp analysis of the 2025 Tour de Suisse’s GC battle and the latest regulatory controversies surrounding the UCI. Their discussion centred on Joao Almeida’s stage racing credibility, Kevin Vauquelin’s emergence, and what Bruyneel called “astonishing” decisions by the UCI.

With just two stages remaining in the Tour de Suisse, Joao Almeida appeared poised to seal a significant win. “He’s the best rider there and he's also in amazing shape,” Bruyneel said, praising the UAE Team Emirates- XRG rider’s aggression and endurance across multiple stages. Almeida was third overall, 39 seconds behind leader Kevin Vauquelin, but with an uphill finish and mountain time trial ahead, he remained the strong favourite.

Without UAE’s mishap on stage 1, it is pretty safe to say that Almeida would have won this race at a canter. This is especially good news for Tadej Pogacar at the Tour next month.

Bruyneel singled out Almeida’s victory on Stage 4 as a defining performance, “That was quite the performance… attacking probably 3k from the top and then keeping that gap until the finish with 40k to go or something.” Martin added that Almeida’s ability to put “the hurt on the whole peloton” underscored why he’s one of the sport’s top stage racers.

However, Bruyneel speculated that Almeida could have gained even more time by tactically letting a small group rejoin him in Stage 5, “Why don’t you just lose another 10 seconds, get with these three guys… and the gap would have been a lot bigger.”

One of the surprises of the race has been Vauquelin’s rise into yellow. The Frenchman, riding for Arkéa – B&B Hotels, benefited from the Stage 1 breakaway and has shown consistency uphill and against the clock. Bruyneel offered high praise, “I think very highly of Vauquelin… he goes really well uphill, he can time trial well. He may hang on. He’s going to be podium for sure.”

Martin questioned how long Vauquelin could hold off Almeida’s charge, noting that the Stage 7 finish (4km at 8%) should allow Almeida to claw back at least 15–20 seconds. With the final stage a 9km climb at 8–10%, Bruyneel concluded: “Almeida will have to have a good day… and then he will win the Tour of Switzerland, but not by much.”

The hosts turned their attention to INEOS Grenadiers, following rumours Kevin Vauquelin is set to join the team. Bruyneel was blunt, “They have five to seven riders who are kind of institutions within the team that nobody touches… and it doesn’t really matter anymore if they have results or not.” He pointed out that while Ineos has depth, it lacks a clear leader who can win a Grand Tour.

Martin questioned whether the team’s structure was holding back younger talent, saying Ineos “have certain riders that are like planets and everything rotates around them.” Bruyneel argued the team needed to regain hunger: “They’re house dogs now… they used to be hungry.”

One proposed solution? Ineos must build a dedicated U23 development team, rather than relying on external feeder squads. “If you want to have access to huge talent so young, you have to have a place where you can accommodate them,” Bruyneel said.

The pair were scathing in their criticism of the UCI’s proposed trial of gear restrictions in August. Intended to limit the maximum distance covered per pedal stroke to around 10.4 metres, the rule complicates compatibility with existing equipment, particularly SRAM drivetrains.

Bruyneel called it “astonishing” that such a decision was made without consulting industry players: “I cannot believe… the UCI comes with this thing, teams with SRAM have a huge problem.” He warned that equipment manufacturers were being put at risk, noting, “One person I know is going to go bankrupt because he's invested so much into a state-of-the-art handlebar.”

Beyond gearing, the duo also criticised the UCI’s blanket approach to handlebar width limits, especially for smaller riders and women. “If you’re used to riding 38mm bars, you behave differently in the bunch. Now all of a sudden, you're on 40s and you think you can pass, but you can’t,” Bruyneel said. “You can't have one rule for every single rider.”

They traced many of the safety-driven reforms to pressure from ASO’s Christian Prudhomme and FDJ’s Marc Madiot. Bruyneel called it a “French triangle,” claiming the group had an outsized influence on current safety policy: “All of these recommendations, they say they come from SafeR, but it’s Predhomme, Madiot, and Lappartient.”

The most emotional moment came when Bruyneel and Martin reflected on Quinn Simmons’ solo win on Stage 2, a day after the two year anniversary of Gino Mäder’s death. Simmons had been involved in the fatal crash and openly dedicated his victory to Mäder and his family. “That was an unbelievable performance,” Bruyneel said. “He did 430 watts for 36 minutes… almost 6 watts per kilo. That’s crazy.”

Martin added that Simmons showed not just physical strength but mental resolve too, “He kept looking like he was going to get reeled in, and they were racing all out behind him.”

Finally, the conversation turned back to safety: “We need to slow the riders down,” Martin said at one point, “but it’s not that simple.” And Bruyneel, shaking his head at UCI policymaking, put it even more plainly: “Whatever we say doesn’t matter. They don’t care.”