"Tom Pidcock is a generational talent" - Ineos DS confirms the team has long-term plans to fight for GC at Grand tours with Pidcock

Tom Pidcock's personal ambitions and the vision of INEOS Grenadiers. The cooperation can go either way in coming years as it's becoming clear the two sides won't unanimously agree in everything. In years to come, it'll become essential, more than ever, to find the right balance between their interests. Steve Cummings whose relationship with Pidcock is said to be very good, could play an important role of a mediator, but his status in INEOS was also debated after his removal from Tour staff.

Performance Director Scott Drawer chatted about both members of the Ineos family with Cyclingnews. He insisted that both Pidcock and Head of Racing Cummings will play a key role in the next era of Ineos Grenadiers (refers to a founding of a new U23 team in near future), despite the Netflix Tour de France documentary highlighting tension between the two and Cummings being left at home from this year's race.

Clearly, Pidcock is seen as a key part of the team’s Grand Tour group, alongside Carlos Rodríguez and Egan Bernal. The 24-year-old already showed glimpses of his true potential in the mountains (for example by winning the Alpe d'Huez stage in 2022). But there's still a lot of work to do to become a challenger for the likes of Tadej Pogacar.

"Tom Pidcock is contracted with us until the end of 2027 so none of that's going to change. He's a generational talent," Drawer said. "A long-term aspiration for Tom will be fighting for the GC and I think he wants that as well. We look forward to supporting him on that mission. He's definitely got a key role in the team in the long-term future."

Drawer confirmed that Steve Cummings has a senior management role in the team despite being left at home from this year’s Tour de France. "Absolutely," Drawer made clear. "Steve's role is Director of Racing and so is much more significant than just being on a race. Zak Dempster is 'lead DS' for this Tour but Steve and I are working on a number of strategic projects already for rider recruitment for 2026."