Sir Dave Brailsford has launched yet another “mission” after a brief but difficult spell at Manchester United, with the objective of delivering an eighth Tour de France victory for Ineos Grenadiers.
At Old Trafford, Brailsford presented his performance plan in the form of “Mission 21” (a 21st league title) for the men’s team and “Mission 1” (a first Women’s Super League title) for United’s women.
Brailsford, however, did not get the opportunity to deliver on that vision, with The Times revealing last June that he would be stepping away from United after only 18 months to focus instead on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s cycling team and his broader role as director of sport for Ineos.
Brailsford alongside Ratcliffe during the cycling supremo’s short-lived advisory role at UnitedAlamy/Sportimage
Since returning to cycling the 62-year-old former British Cycling boss has delivered what has been described as a strikingly similar presentation to the one given to United’s players, with “Mission 8” now the key objective for staff and riders at the Grenadiers — formerly known as Team Sky.
Under Sky and then the Ineos banner, the team won seven Tour de France titles in eight years between 2012 and 2019, with Sir Bradley Wiggins securing a historic first win for a British rider. Chris Froome then won four Tours for the team, followed by further victories for Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal.
But an eighth Tour win looks every bit as difficult a challenge as another Premier League title, given the sheer dominance of Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates XRG.
The recruitment of two talented riders in Oscar Onley, the 23-year-old Scot, and Kévin Vauquelin, the 25-year-old from France, looks to be a step in the right direction, but having the biggest budget was also central to the team’s previous success and that means increasing their revenue beyond the £30million being pumped in annually by Ratcliffe at present.
Last month The Times reported that Ratcliffe was preparing to relinquish the naming rights of the Ineos Grenadiers team by securing a new co-title sponsor, the Danish IT firm Netcompany.
That deal, believed to be worth £100million over five years, is due to be announced in London on Tuesday. Netcompany, which recently became the primary digital operations partner for Heathrow, also works with HM Revenue & Customs.