Netcompany-Ineos Cycling Team – Ineos Grenadiers reveal their new name and a five-year sponsor partnership
The announcement has been highly anticipated
Ineos Grenadiers will be called Netcompany-Ineos Cycling Team from the Giro d'Italia onwards, it was announced in London on Tuesday. There is also new, grey and orange kit to go with the five-year partnership.
The new title sponsor is a Danish technology company, whose AI platform, PULSE, the team hopes to use in the development of a performance-optimisation model. The squad's ambition is to win the Tour de France, for an eighth time, during the five-year deal.
The news was initially reported in March, but the launch was moved forward from the initially expected pre-Tour de France spot. The team will continue to be British, and to be owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who took over the WorldTour squad from Team Sky in 2019.
Article continues belowFrench oil and gas giant TotalEnergies will also remain on board with the team, after the company signed a deal to become a 'jersey partner' last year.
Netcompany has four offices in the UK, as well as across the rest of Europe and Asia, is listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen, and recently won a contract with Heathrow to become the airport’s primary digital operations partner.
Team principal and director of sport Sir David Brailsford said in a statement: "This is one of the most significant partnerships in cycling – a real vote of confidence not only in our team, but in the sport itself. It’s a major moment for us and marks the beginning of a new chapter.
He added: "Our sport is a human endeavour, where decisions in training, racing and recovery make the difference every day. We have no shortage of data - the real challenge is turning it into simple, practical actions and delivering them consistently.
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"With Netcompany, we can do that better. PULSE allows us to orchestrate our data into clear insights that support faster, better decisions when it matters most."
Ineos boss Ratcliffe said: "I’m really pleased to welcome Netcompany to the cycling team, establishing a new long-term partnership that will help create the right conditions to deliver more success.
"This collaboration brings additional resource, technology and capability across performance and operations to give the team the ability to compete consistently at the highest level of the sport."
André Rogaczewski, the CEO and co-founder of Netcompany,added: "This partnership supports our strategic ambition to accelerate growth across Europe by demonstrating the impact of cutting-edge technology and AI at the highest level of sport.
"Together, we aim to enable smarter decision-making, strengthen competitive advantage, and help the team in winning the Tour de France again."
After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.
Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.
He has worked at a variety of races, from the Classics to the Giro d'Italia – and this year will be his seventh Tour de France.
A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.
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