Ineos Grenadiers have signed up to an exclusive partnership with Garmin and Tacx for 2022. The British WorldTour team has used Wahoo Kickr turbo trainers and indoor training equipment since 2014 as Team Sky - alongside Garmin Edge head units and more recently Garmin Varia radar-equipped lights - so it’s something of a coup for Garmin to get the most successful cycling team in recent history on board and using Tacx’s Neo 2T trainer as well as Garmin's heart rate monitors and smartwatches.
“The [Ineos] team has worked closely with Garmin for a number of years and in using its products we know we’re at the forefront of cycling technology,” said Carsten Jeppesen, Ineos Grenadiers head of technical partners and cycling relations in Garmin’s press release.
“We share a desire to continually innovate, and we rely upon Garmin’s products to track our efforts and keep us safe while training and racing on the road. This is why we are thrilled to expand our current sponsorship, which covers Edge head units and Varia lights, to include heart rate monitors, smartwatches and the Tacx home training ecosystem.
(Image credit: Garmin)
Alongside Ineos, Garmin and Tacx adds Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl to its exclusively sponsored pro-team line-up - another big team that had a separate deal with Wahoo.
Formerly Deceuninck-Quick Step, the Belgian team used Wahoo Elemnt computers and Tickr heart rate monitors for the 2020 and 2021 season but, in a mirror image of Ineos’s arrangement, were using Tacx Neo 2T turbo trainers since the Wahoo deal didn’t cover the brand’s Kickr trainer. Now, like Ineos, they will use Garmin/Tacx products exclusively. The team will continue to train with the Tacx Neo 2T smart trainer and will now additionally make use of the full Garmin ecosystem, using Edge cycling computers, Varia rearview radars, wearables and more.
Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl includes reigning world champion Julian Alaphillippe in its 30-rider line-up.
Team Jumbo-Visma continues with the full Garmin and Tacx ecosystem in 2022. The team, which includes a men’s, women’s and development team, will train and compete using Edge cycling computers, the Index S2 Smart Scale, Garmin smartwatches, Tacx Neo 2T smart trainers and more.
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Garmin also continues to sponsor Groupama-FDJ and Movistar Team (M/F). Additional professional cycling teams sponsored by Garmin and Tacx include Astana Qazaqstan, SD Worx, Lotto Soudal, TotalEnergies and Trek Factory Racing.
Garmin acquired privately held Dutch company Tacx in 2019 but has kept the identity of the two brands quite distinct, which surprised some. However, what’s for sure it that it now has a huge amount of clout in the training tech sphere, with the Tacx takeover giving it more power against US rival Wahoo, which itself has been busy with acquisitions, adding pedal company Speedplay and indoor training platform Sufferfest.
