The handshakes between the key stakeholders at the launch of Netcompany-Ineos said it all. When the CEO of Netcompany, André Rogaczewski, team principal of what was Ineos Grenadiers, Sir Dave Brailsford, and the team's CEO, John Allert connected on stage there was a force behind the gesture. All three exuded confidence that this was the right partnership, and belief in the five year project.
Netcompany-Ineos is alive, and will be in public from the start of the Giro d'Italia next Friday. There's new funding, a new grey jersey, and a new AI-powered platform, PULSE, from the Danish IT company to play with. There's also an official return for Brailsford, publicly acknowledged as the team's principal for the first time since he rejoined last year.
As Ineos Grenadiers, the team have already won 18 times this season, making them the second-most successful behind only UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Things seem positive for the British WorldTour squad right now, and there was a buzz about their future from the team at the event in London's Kings Cross. It seems a world away from 2024 and their annus horribilis of just 14 wins all year. The rebranded squad is still unlikely to win the Tour de France in 2026, but it feels like they're progressing, not regressing or stagnating as before.
"I shouldn't be as excited as I am, but I am," Brailsford almost giggled during the launch. "This is right up my street."
"The significance of it really is the length and scale of this partnership. Elite sport really builds on stability.
"It's not just a name on a jersey and a change of colour and change of kit, we've got PULSE, which is the software platform that's behind Netcompany, and that's going to give us the opportunity of impacting our system and really allow us to take a step forward. It's a great vote of confidence in our team."
Rogaczewski added: "When you marry an IT company company with the most winning cycling team you get a big force in cycling and tech. I think we'll have a mean winning machine."
Beyond the PR, the "why?" in terms of the deal seems clear: Ineos Grenadiers wanted an injection of funding to help them return to closer to the top of the WorldTour, while Netcompany wants to show its abilities on the world stage through cycling, especially in the crucial market of the UK.
"I think we're building something unique, both in sports and in tech," Rogaczewski said, in the bit of the launch which felt more tech than cycling. "We will push the team to its limits. That goes for tech and for cycling. And I'm proud to see how technology and sports can unfold in a good way, and together, we will push Europe to become a global leader in tech and stand as an inspiration for other European companies. We will build European sovereignty for the age of AI."
The sponsorship also might give more to the sporting team than others; this isn't just a Belgian hardware company slapped on some kit. The headlines lead with AI, but it seems like PULSE, at least to start with, will be useful for data aggregation. That said, how to use AI and this data is the "Holy Grail", according to Brailsford.
He explained: "One of the things that we're very excited about with PULSE is the ability to orchestrate all that data into a single, aligned format, and not only to be able to sift out the signal from the noise... but it's really the ability to take that information and start to look at the predictive value of it, and therein lies the opportunity."
"The next frontier is understanding individual response," Brailsford continued. "If you can achieve that through AI, you will get better consistency. That’s where I see the big opportunity coming."
Humanity
Despite the focus on tech and data, and the buzzwords around AI, it's clear that it isn't everything, that there is still a need for the "human side" of cycling. That was particularly clear when talking to the team's director of racing, Geraint Thomas, who claimed to not own a laptop until half a year ago.
"It's always been science and art, and I think there's still a need for the art," he said. "Getting that clarity on all the data and stuff is one thing, but as you know, bike racing isn't just about numbers. It's about how you ride, the craft, and consistency. You get people that are super talented, but they might not have the mentality. It's not as simple as a partnership with an AI thing that means we recruit really well. It's still a whole jungle, at least the path in the jungle [is a bit clearer].
"I've been around for a while now, so I think I've seen the art, and more and more science has come into it. I think I've always been able to keep one eye on the big picture and one eye on the day-to-day. I think that's key in any sport. It's easy to get wrapped up in race to race and forget about the big picture."
As for using PULSE: "We're just at the discovery phase at the minute, like what's the potential of it and what do we need it for? It's about starting with the logistics and letting it grow and evolve."
Thomas would not be drawn on how much of a financial boost the Netcompany deal would give the team, but it is clear that there are no longer any worries about the future.
"It gives us the platform to not worry about the financial side and just focus on performance and where we're going and getting a good plan," he said. "I think that's quite rare in cycling anyway, to have that solid sort of base.
"Obviously, you need a bit of money to get the right team in place, but I think once you get to that sort of level, it's all about how you actually deliver it. This partnership as well, hopefully will really help with that."
As ever at these kinds of launches, the carrot of winning the Tour de France again was dangled. With UAE, Visma-Lease a Bike, Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe and maybe even Lidl-Trek and Decathlon CMA CGM ahead of Ineos in the pecking order, that goal does seem far off. However, with the data used in the right way, and the funding there, perhaps the team can find the next Tadej Pogačar, or even Paul Seixas. It's a long-term project, though.
"We believe we can close that gap," Thomas argued. "We want to try and win it now, that's not saying we're going to, but I think if you're always thinking 'down there we'll win it', there's no real urgency. We're all ambitious, that's the apex goal, there's a lot of things along the way.
"The narrative around the team is pretty good at the minute. It feels like an evolution of the team again. It's like 3.0, so to speak, and we're at the start of a really exciting journey now. We've got a solid foundation now, and it's all about the process going forward and targeting those big, ambitious goals."
Moving on from the past
Rogaczewski and Netcompany will be aware of cycling's controversial past, but the tech CEO said it wasn't a concern before the deal was signed.
"I really believe that we have a very professional cycling team here and [we are] trusting all the way through that we are doing our best in everything that is possible," the Dane explained. "We are investing into a very professional team and I think they will behave according to what is accepted."
He was also not forthcoming when asked about allegations that linked soigneur David Rozman to the doping doctor Mark Schmidt, who was convicted after Operation Aderlass. That has not been fully resolved, with the ITA launching an investigation.
"I can't even comment on it. I'm just interested in whether the politics and behaviour of the professional cycling team are within the boundaries of what you can expect and I'm certain they are, here in this case."
