{"id":326006,"date":"2025-12-03T23:52:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T23:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/326006\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T23:52:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T23:52:15","slug":"2025-season-review-ineos-grenadiers-disaster-year-or-is-the-british-team-building-for-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/326006\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 season review | INEOS Grenadiers: Disaster year or is the British team building for the future?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nYoung climber Carlos Rodr\u00edguez was considered a GC option,
\nwhile the roster also featured powerhouses like Filippo Ganna<\/a>, and emerging
\ntalents Joshua Tarling, Magnus Sheffield, and Thymen Arensman. Collectively,
\nthe team sat between generations, old champions still present, new leaders
\npushing forward, and their 2025 approach reflected that balancing act.On paper, INEOS produced a strong haul with 28 wins across
\nthe season. Many came in stage races, national championships, and smaller
\nevents rather than the sport\u2019s top-tier showcases, but the raw number remained
\nimpressive. Their World Tour ranking saw them finish 8th overall<\/a>,
\nwhich is a fair reflection.<\/p>\n

They remained securely within the sport\u2019s elite, yet far
\nremoved from the dominance they once wielded. Compared to powerhouse teams like
\nUAE Team Emirates – XRG and Visma, INEOS looked more like a top-five contender
\nthan a trophy-lifting giant. It is clear now that INEOS have a long road back
\nto the top.<\/p>\n

Spring Review<\/p>\n

INEOS\u2019 spring classics campaign was a mix of brilliance from
\na few key riders and underperformance from others. Their cobbled lineup, once
\nexpected to control races, lacked punch. Riders like Ben Turner, Josh Tarling,
\nand Magnus Sheffield couldn\u2019t influence the decisive moments in Belgium\u2019s
\nbiggest races, often finding themselves on the back foot.<\/p>\n

But the spring was salvaged, and at times electrified, by
\nFilippo Ganna. Kwiatkowski opened the campaign with a surprise solo win at the
\ngravel-heavy Cl\u00e1sica Ja\u00e9n in February, but Ganna became the defining figure as
\nthe one-days intensified.<\/p>\n

\"Filippo<\/p>\n

Filippo Ganna was superb in the spring. @Sirotti<\/p>\n

At Milano-Sanremo, he battled to a superb second behind
\nMathieu van der Poel, and ahead of the mighty Tadej Pogacar. The performance
\ninstantly ranked as one of the team\u2019s best results of the season. He followed
\nit with a podium in the E3 Saxo Classic, grabbing third against a field stacked
\nwith classics specialists. Ganna then rode to eighth at Flanders and thirteenth
\nat Paris\u2013Roubaix, proving he\u2019s no longer just a time-trialist but a genuine
\nMonument contender. Without Ganna\u2019s consistency and strength, INEOS\u2019 spring
\nwould have been forgettable, with him, they found a point of pride.<\/p>\n

The Ardennes were quieter. Pogacar\u2019s dominance made podium
\nopportunities scarce. Overall, the classics campaign was respectable thanks to
\nGanna\u2019s heroics, but revealed clear gaps in depth that the team will need to
\naddress.<\/p>\n

Grand Tour Season<\/p>\n

INEOS entered the 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia without a clear GC favorite, aiming to
\nsupport Bernal\u2019s continued comeback while giving young riders space to attack.
\nBernal rode steadily throughout, finishing seventh overall, a meaningful result
\nconsidering his long road back from injury. However, after a superb first week,
\nBernal may have been hoping for more. Still, his 7th place gave the
\nteam 180 UCI points.<\/p>\n

The highlight of the Giro came early, when young Josh
\nTarling won the Stage 2 individual time trial with a stunning ride, beating Primoz
\nRoglic against the clock. Bernal\u2019s top-10 and Tarling\u2019s breakthrough victory
\nmade the Giro a quietly successful race, even if the team never figured in the
\nbattle for pink in the third week as Bernal faded.<\/p>\n

With no marquee GC leader and Thomas no longer in GC condition, the Grenadiers
\narrived at the Tour with stage wins as their main objective. That approach
\nproduced two of the team\u2019s standout moments of the entire year, both courtesy
\nof Thymen Arensman. On Stage 14, he broke clear on the final climb to
\nLuchon-Superbagn\u00e8res and soloed to the win. Then, in Stage 19\u2019s summit finish
\nat La Plagne, Arensman delivered an even bigger shock by holding off both Pogacar
\nand Vingegaard to win the stage outright. While the GC duel behind involved
\ntactical hesitation, Arensman\u2019s wins were some of the best moments for the team
\nin recent years.<\/p>\n

\"ThymenArensman<\/p>\n

Arensman picked up not 1, but 2 Tour de France stage wins in July. @Sirotti<\/p>\n

In the final Grand Tour, INEOS again raced with freedom and claimed three stage
\nwins. Ben Turner took a surprise sprint victory on Stage 4, defeating Jasper
\nPhilipsen and marking a major step in his evolution. Bernal then added an
\nemotional win on Stage 16 after joining the breakaway and outsprinting Mikel
\nLanda, his first WorldTour victory in more than four years and a symbolic
\nmilestone in his recovery. Ganna closed out the set by dominating the Stage 18
\ntime trial. With six Grand Tour stage wins across 2025, INEOS proved that even
\nwithout a GC contender, they remained one of the most dangerous teams in the
\npeloton when allowed to race on instinct.<\/p>\n

Transfers <\/p>\n

The end of 2025 marked a pivotal transition. Several
\nveterans retired, most notably Geraint Thomas, the last active link to the
\noriginal Sky dynasty, who waved an emotional goodbye at the Tour of Britain.<\/p>\n

The incoming riders signaled a new era. The biggest signing
\nwas Frenchman K\u00e9vin Vauquelin, a breakout climber who finished seventh at the
\nTour de France and podiumed major one-day races. Analysts called him \u201ca diamond
\nin its hands,\u201d and he could become the team\u2019s GC cornerstone. His Ark\u00e9a
\nteammate Embret Svestad-B\u00e5rdseng joined to strengthen the climbing unit. French
\nnational champion Dorian Godon arrived to bolster the classics group, and young
\nScandinavian prospect Theodor Storm added future depth.<\/p>\n

Final Verdict: 7\/10<\/p>\n

INEOS Grenadiers\u2019 2025 season earns a solid 7 out of 10. Look,
\nthey are by no means the team of old, but this was not as bad a year as 2024.
\nIn truth, it\u2019s a fair reflection fo where they currently are.<\/p>\n

They were far from their old dominance, but they also proved
\nthey\u2019re not fading quietly. Six Grand Tour stage wins, Ganna\u2019s huge classics
\nrides, Tarling\u2019s emergence, Bernal\u2019s emotional victory, and Arensman\u2019s Tour
\nheroics provided the season with weight and excitement. At the same time, for
\ntheir budget & resources, they need to climb the rankings in 2026.<\/p>\n

Discussion<\/p>\n

Fin Major (CyclingUpToDate)<\/p>\n

Looking back on INEOS Grenadiers\u2019 2025 season, I found
\nmyself appreciating the team in a different way than in their Sky-era heyday.
\nThey aren\u2019t the dominant force they once were, but I actually enjoyed seeing
\nthem race with more freedom and personality. Arensman winning two Tour stages
\nby attacking instead of defending felt like a breath of fresh air. Ganna\u2019s
\nspring, Tarling\u2019s Giro time trial, and Bernal\u2019s emotional Vuelta win reminded
\nme that this team still has real sparks. My personal favourite would have to be
\nseeing Bernal finally get back on top, and I would love to see him pick up a
\ngrand tour podium next year.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the lack of a true GC threat was
\nimpossible to ignore, and watching them slip further behind the sport\u2019s
\nsuper-teams was frustrating. Still, for me, 2025 showed growth rather than
\ndecline. It couldn\u2019t have got much worse than 2024 however.<\/p>\n

R\u00faben Silva (CyclingUpToDate) <\/p>\n

With INEOS I will be blunt from the start, it does not matter how the team has changed or some of the iconic wins they have taken for a team with a budget of over \u20ac50 million (reportedly the second in the peloton) the results are nowhere near expected and simply nowhere near what a regular sponsor would accept. The team has luck with INEOS’ patience because in yet another year they not only failed to be in dispute for second-best team in the peloton, they were nowhere near it and the 8th spot in the World Tour rankings is a firm display of just how much the team has missed out on top results. It can’t be rated a good season in any way.<\/p>\n

Like most, it is a year where the team has had some successes. First and foremost, whilst not results-related, I very much admire their attitude this year with different tactics, more aggressive racing and finally putting more focus into their breakaway and classics specialists, whilst letting off the steam in Grand Tour stints that would achieve at best (yet rarely) a podium. This makes a difference in my book and I did enjoy seeing the team race this year, with the likes of Tobias Foss, Bob Jungels and Joshua Tarling being used in innovative ways that in my eyes are obvious but the traditional mindset in the peloton often prevents teams from taking such risks.<\/p>\n

28 victories this year is not nothing, and there are big highlights such as Filippo Ganna’s terrific spring (and excellent Tirreno-Adriatico that truly created that tension of a TT specialist winning a race where the climbers usually take the cake); Thymen Arensman’s epic Tour of the Alps raid and subsequent Tour de France victories over Pogacar and Vingegaard (although on both occasions he benefited from Pogacar racing conservatively); Egan Bernal’s return to winning ways and the transformation of Ben Turner into a sprinter who is a very interesting mix and I’m properly looking forward to see in 2026.<\/p>\n

But the negatives come just as heavy. For Carlos Rodr\u00edguez this was a lost season, he simply had no memorable performance, did not evolve, and did not perform in his major goals. Certainly, he is not old, he remains only 24, but his peers are evolving at a scary speed and the Spaniard seems to have peaked in 2023 and remained stagnant since. Things are not looking good if he fails to take the step in 2026, which is quite possible taking into consideration he ended his season with a fractured pelvis at the Tour. Geraint Thomas is retiring this year but he was nothing more than a domestique, his level never actually allowed him to be competitive in a single race it felt, for what must’ve been a huge salary.<\/p>\n

\"CarlosRodriguez\"\/<\/p>\n

Carlos Rodr\u00edguez was 10th at the Tour de France before he crashed out of the race. @Sirotti<\/p>\n

Joshua Tarling by no means had a bad year but seemingly it wasn’t as good as his past two seasons, which is odd as he is maturing and I expected him to be Evenepoel’s biggest rival by this point in the time trials. Magnus Sheffield had a great Paris-Nice but he exploded in Flanders and his second half of the season was completely absent, another rider with insane potential that doesn’t seem to be taking the next step either. The team signed Caleb Ewan who raced for a few weeks then retired, an odd plot to the spring in which someone didn’t communicate properly…<\/p>\n

The team did have some nice performances with the likes of Sam Watson and Axel Laurance as their puncheurs and classics specialists but they haven’t really performed at World Tour level. It is, again, a \u20ac50 million euro team, who need the results at the top level. And the team simply has several riders who didn’t perform or show themselves this year. Even at a domestique level, or chasing breakaways, if the form is good you come out in my eyes. The team has about five riders whom I don’t remember seeing a single time this year, and the fact that five riders are retiring (and another five remain without a contract despite us being in December already) is just a pile of bad signs for a team that has to get back to the top and is simply failing to do so.<\/p>\n

And can you look at the future positively? Surely, with the likes of Rodr\u00edguez, Tarling, Sheffield, Arensman, Laurance you seem to have leader after leader after leader but they don’t take the next step in what is expected of them. The team shoul sign Derek Gee but he is stuck in legal issues, K\u00e9vin Vauquelin is a good signing but at best a Top10 Grand Tour rider which the team already has plenty of, and no other signing will have any meaningful effect on the team. The future can be bright, but I would bet that it’s not. For the time being.<\/p>\n

Ondrej Zhasil (CyclingUpToDate) \u00a0<\/p>\n

What I miss from the current INEOS Grenadiers is some clear identity. While in the past, Sky was synonymous with the world’s best GC team, its successor has been mainly successful in time trials thanks to Filippo Ganna and Josh Tarling in recent years. But with the dominant Remco Evenepoel, they have only triumphed in his absence with each taking a stage at Vuelta and Giro respectively (almost losing to Jay Vine at both occasions…).<\/p>\n

Now that was a harsh way to open my rewind, because INEOS still managed to win 6 Grand Tour stages. Especially Thymen Arensman’s performances in the third week of Tour de France are an extremely powerful memory. But with the same breath, it is important to note that with all their firepower, Ineos has won only ONE general classification in 2025 – with Sam Watson at 4 Jours de Dunkerque. On paper, the season of Ineos doesn’t look all that bad, but it’s the many highlights, often achieved by the less-known riders (such as Langellotti in Pologne) that improve the overall impression while Ineos didn’t really achieve any of their big goals for the year since Bernal’s 7th place at Giro was Ineos’ best GrandTour result.<\/p>\n

It’s not a complete failure of a season thanks to the many big victories, but the future of this team will lie with it’s new\/most recent recruits – in particulat Kevin Vauquelin and the expected arrival of Derek Gee.I give Ineos a fair 6\/10\u00a0since I think that we have seen from them in 2025 was mostly within the range of our realistic expectations, but nothing of added value.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Young climber Carlos Rodr\u00edguez was considered a GC option, while the roster also featured powerhouses like Filippo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278711,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,77972,177694,66980,228,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-326006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-egan-bernal","12":"tag-filippo-ganna","13":"tag-ineos-grenadiers","14":"tag-review","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}