
Over a decade has passed since Ineos Grenadiers last sent a sprinter to the Tour de France. The year was 2012. The rider? A 27-year-old Mark Cavendish, racing in the world champion’s jersey for the then-called Team Sky.
Cavendish won three stages that edition, including the closing one on Paris’s Champs-Élysées. The following year, he signed for Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, Team Sky nailed down its focus to GC domination, and the team never brought a sprinter to the Tour again.