Wiggins raises eyebrows at Pidcock drama: "I think his days at INEOS are numbered"

With Bradley Wiggins' 2012 Tour victory began an era of dominance for INEOS Grenadiers, then known as Team Sky, in the Tour de France. The British team went on to win six of the next seven Tours. However, that dominance has been absent for years now, and Wiggins watches the decline of his beloved team with dismay.

"The team is in pieces," Wiggins said in an interview with cycling journalist Daniel Benson. "It seems to have gradually gone that way since Dave Brailsford left. Rod Ellingworth took over for a few years, but they peaked when they had all the money in the world and could buy any rider. They dominated the sport. Pidcock (Tom, ed.) and Geraint (Thomas, ed.) have done wonderfully, but in many ways, it's sad to see because it was once a huge British empire," Wiggins lamented about the current state of INEOS Grenadiers.

Recently, the British team announced a major staff restructuring, introducing a long list of new names intended to give INEOS a fresh boost for the coming years. Wiggins hopes the team can regain its footing. "It’s solvable, of course. It’s probably a situation similar to Manchester United in many ways (also owned by INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe, ed.). It’s a massive club, a massive team, with a great history and amazing riders."

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INEOS Grenadiers cannot reverse declining trend in 2024

One of the staff members who has left INEOS is Steve Cummings. The former rider was expected to go to the Tour de France but was left out at the last minute for unknown reasons. Wiggins finds it notable that the team let go of Cummings. "I know Cummings hasn't been with the team since June. I've heard many different stories about why, and it’s interesting that someone like Steve brought out some of the team’s best performances, like when Geraint came third in the Tour (in 2022, behind Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, ed.). But they've also entered a very unique cycling year with one extremely dominant man," he adds, referring to Pogacar's extraordinary 2024 season.

According to Wiggins, today's INEOS Grenadiers is hardly comparable to the team he rode for. "Brailsford had everything under control when I was there, and with all those characters and personalities, like myself and Chris Froome, he made it work," Wiggins praised Brailsford’s team-building skills. "I couldn’t even tell you who they have now, but is that a sign of how well Dave and everyone managed that team?" Wiggins critically remarked on the current management. The former cyclist also noted the decline in ambition. "Things went downhill slowly, and what I found strange was the complete change in philosophy to focus on racing hard and winning stages instead of going for grand tours. Once you try to win grand tours, everything really starts to go downhill afterward."

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Tom Pidcock is at odds with INEOS, but appears set to stay

Another issue at INEOS is the Pidcock situation. The rider and the team clashed after Pidcock was removed at the last minute from the roster for the Tour of Lombardy without any sort of explanation. Following this, Pidcock appeared to be negotiating an early departure with the team. ProTeam Q36.5 seemed poised to provide a solution for both parties, but the latest rumor is that Pidcock’s transfer to this team has fallen through.

Wiggins watches the situation unfold with raised eyebrows and can't imagine Pidcock staying with INEOS, though that seems to be the current reality. "I just spoke to a few people about it, and I read what Geraint Thomas said about it last week. Everyone’s scratching their heads a bit, but I think Geraint summed it up well when he said it has more to do with the people around Pidcock," Wiggins said. "It’s a unique situation in cycling, and I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like this, especially with someone of his caliber after what he did this summer (Olympic mountain bike champion, ed.). But I think his days at INEOS are numbered now. I don’t see how he can come back. I imagine a transfer is on the horizon."

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