A day after the renewal announcement, new details reveal just how close the 16-year relationship came to collapse and what saved it.
Ronan Mc Laughlin
You could be forgiven for thinking it’s “business as usual” when Pinarello and Ineos Grenadiers announced a new three-year deal this week, extending until the end of the 2028 season a relationship that’s existed since the team’s 2010 founding. The press release included the familiar language of sponsor renewals: “a shared commitment to innovation,” “a natural partnership,” “together since day one.” And the relatively lengthy deal puts to end any notion of a divorce for the long-term couple.
Ineos have no bikes for 2026, and options are running out
Pinarello set to exit as bike partner after 16 years, as the sponsor merry-go-round kicks into full speed.
Escape Collective reported in July at the Tour de France that Pinarello and Ineos looked set to split. At that time, sources told Escape that there was no signed agreement for 2026. Both the team and Pinarello repeatedly declined to comment. But multiple sources inside the industry indicated that the longstanding relationship, one of the longest in WorldTour cycling, was at real risk of ending and spoke of manufacturers Ineos had been speaking to and testing with. Pinarello, it was said, was preparing to join the Q36.5 team from 2026. It may still do so, bringing together two of billionaire owner Ivan Glasenberg’s investments under a single team-branded umbrella.
But the Ineos renewal announcement on October 16 contradicts our July reporting that suggested a split. With the partnership extended for three solid years now, all’s well that ends well, or is it? The timing and quiet manoeuvring behind the scenes – described to Escape by sources familiar with the negotiations – suggest a different story, one of a strained relationship once touted as more like a “marriage” that was only recently and narrowly saved. Furthermore, the “exclusivity” once described as essential to the team at an Ineos and Pinarello presentation attended by Escape two years ago is far from certain yet, as rumours continue to link Pinarello to Q36.5, with even Pinarello’s chairman Fausto Pinarello hinting the brand could “double up” in 2026 by supplying both squads, as reported by Cyclingnews.
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