@cyclingraw If this and Ganna are the Tour team, then they have an incredibly strong team for the TTT.
However, the team probably lacks a bit of climbing support for the tour. It would make sense to replace Watson with Sheffield or even Arensman for the tour.
@ineosfan08 It was indeed a great week for Ineos. It looked like Onley jumped too early. He would have won if he had jumped a little later.
Really looking forward to seeing Onley and Vauquelin race again in Paris-Nice.
@medicinexthings Of course, Crod is a big talent who has had a lot of bad luck. However, getting Evenepoel for 7 million is a much better deal than getting Crod for 4 million. If the management knew what they were doing, Crod should never have cost 4 million in the first place.
@medicinexthings Ineos had already spent 4 million to release Crod from his contract with Movistar. I think that's why the 7 million was a problem. (still a bad decision though)
Evenepoel also mentioned management changes as a reason.
But Specialized would indeed have been the biggest problem.
@Tratnikstan Yes, he did, but people hype him up too much. He's a great engineer with a lot of knowledge, but he isn't some kind of magician. Most top WT teams have professional and very competent engineers. Bigham maybe adds 1-2% extra tops.
@CoffeyKimball@medicinexthings It's hard to know for sure, but I think Pidcock was earning more than Crod
According to the rumours, Pidcock was earning 3.5-4m a year, + a 1m bonus for every classic/Olympic/world title.
I think Crod is on around 2.5M. Ineos did pay 4m to Movistar for breaking his contract.
@TSchrenner @INEOSGrenadiers @Eganbernal@GettySport This was the perfect stage for Pidcock. He was always great on these stages when he was on Ineos (Tour 2023 stages 9 and 13).
Narváez has indeed improved, but I think it's a matter of training. He clearly trained more endurance-focused, and he was skinnier than ever this Tour.
@ineosfan08 Yes, it's quite possible that they tried to make him go for the GC at the Tour. It would make sense, given that Crod didn't have the perfect preparation. If he doesn't find his form during the Vuelta, it might be better for him to reset and focus on next season.
Average TTT for the squad Ineos had here. Only four riders impacted them over the last seven kilometres. On a better day, Jungels and Sheffield would have hung on for much longer. On the plus side, Bernal looked really good.
It's the fifth fastest time at the finish for our Grenadiers after a competitive TTT at #LaVuelta25
The result means @Eganbernal now sits 10th overall, 22 seconds off the race lead.
@ineosfan08 Some of the riders (Hamilton and Ganna) have been unwell recently. Perhaps this could explain it. But Sheffield hasn't looked like himself since the spring, ineos must have made a big mistake in his preparation. Bernal does indeed look the best I have seen him since his crash.
@ineosfan08 He signed the contract after the 2023 Giro. There have been no reports of a salary increase or contract review since then, so he will undoubtedly be significantly underpaid by now. I guess he won't earn more than 400,000 a year.
@ineosfan08 It seems that Gee has already broken his contract. This means that Ineos doesn't have to pay the buyout. His salary at Ineos will be reportedly six times higher than at IPT.
https://t.co/HZLpXUm2BT
@ineosfan08 The problem will be his contract. Either Ineos will have to pay IPT a lot of money, or Gee will have to find a way to break his contract. It will probably cost them more than he is worth, or Gee will need grounds on which to legally break his contract.
@ineosfan08 Gee is the perfect type of GC rider for Ineos.
+-68 kg, he has a great time trial.
Since he has only been in the peloton for two years, there should still be some margin for progression.
He's not on Crod's level when it comes to climbing, but he's much better all round.
It seems that there has been a last-minute change to the Ineos Vuelta team.
Turner's name is listed instead of Hamilton's, and he is not on the podium with the rest of the team.
It would be a great shame for Hamilton after preparing for months for this race.
💪🏼 One of the peloton’s top teams aims to leave its mark at #LaVuelta25. Welcome, @INEOSGrenadiers! 🚵
💪🏼 Uno de los grandes equipos quiere dejar su sello en #LaVuelta25. ¡Bienvenidos, @INEOSGrenadiers! 🚵
@bsirnik I highly recommend the behind-the-scenes videos on the Ineos YouTube channel. Dempster comes across as an excellent DS with great people management skills. His skills will be needed now that Vanthourenhout and possibly Lodewyck are joining Bora.