{"id":2242467,"date":"2026-11-06T14:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T11:35:17","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-11-06T14:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T11:35:17","slug":"it-definitely-wasnt-good-ineos-vowed-the-transition-was-over-2026-shows-its-only-just-starting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2242467","title":{"rendered":"‘It Definitely Wasn\u2019t Good’: Ineos Vowed the Transition Was Over. 2026 Shows It’s Only Just Starting."},"content":{"rendered":"

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Updated November 6, 2026 08:07AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Netcompany Ineos is on the way back to its former glories \u2013 still<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Speaking this week on his Watts Occurring<\/em> podcast, team head of racing Geraint Thomas insisted that 2026 was only the start of the newly financed squad\u2019s quest to regain relevance in the WorldTour.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about that progression, and it\u2019s where you\u2019re starting from as well. This might be a headline now, but let\u2019s say we\u2019re at 20 percent of what we used to be, to pick a number. You can\u2019t just go from 20 to 80 straight away,\u201d Thomas told his co-host Luke Rowe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like climbing a ladder, isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s the same thing with a team, and I think we\u2019ve gone up the ladder a couple of steps, for sure,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWe slipped a few times as well, but that\u2019s all part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

2026 was promised to be the year<\/em> for Netcompany Ineos.<\/p>\n

Seven years after the last of its seven Tour de France titles, this<\/em> would be the year of reboot.<\/p>\n

Thomas, freshly retired from a career devoted to the team, was bringing his racing nous and good vibes to the directors\u2019 chair.<\/p>\n

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Former yellow jersey mastermind Dave Brailsford was back pulling the strings.<\/p>\n

The mid-season arrival of Danish IT brand Netcompany offered a path back to superteam status with its pledge to invest \u20ac100m over five years.<\/p>\n

As Thomas said at the start of the year: \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of talk about transition \u2013 \u2018the team\u2019s in transition, blah blah blah. The transition\u2019s over now, mate.\u201d<\/p>\n

UAE Emirates XRG, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and Visma Lease a Bike were warned.<\/p>\n

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Thomas sees wins beyond the results sheet<\/h2>\n
Geraint Thomas stepped into management at Netcompany Inoes after he retired last winter. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Netcompany Ineos learned that transition takes time in an era defined by a small few phenoms.<\/p>\n

In 2026, the team finished eighth in the WorldTour rankings, only a squeak ahead of Uno-X Mobility and Soudal Quick-Step.<\/p>\n

A total of 36 victories through the season was the team\u2019s best return since 2023, but strip away the filler and it\u2019s not so pretty.<\/p>\n

Eight of that haul came from national championships, the bulk were lower-ranked races, and only 13 were from the WorldTour.<\/p>\n

That baker\u2019s dozen is only a fraction of what was gobbled by the teams Netcompany Ineos is aspiring to beat. Tadej Poga\u010dar, Isaac del Toro, Jonas Vingegaard, and Matthew Brennan powered UAE and Visma to two and three times that number, respectively.<\/p>\n

Looking further forward, Netcompany Ineos\u2019 two marquee wins in 2026 came from a rider who\u2019s on the way out.<\/p>\n

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After a sensational victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen and the inevitable time trial victory at the Giro d\u2019Italia, Filippo Ganna is leaving for Lidl-Trek this winter. More on him later<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Godon, Onley, Vauquelin: Mixed fortunes for three new captains<\/h2>\n
Onley joined Ineos from Picnic-PostNL on a wave of hype this winter.<\/span> (Photo: Alexander Hassenstein\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thomas insisted the results didn\u2019t tell the whole story as he appraised his team\u2019s season on Watts Occurring<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Welshman highlighted how a myriad of mechanicals and crashes pulled the handbrake on a young team focused on three newly recruited captains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s all learning as well. Even though results weren\u2019t particularly sensational, we had a lot of wins, but they were smaller wins,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019 positive spin on the season was well founded.<\/p>\n

Oscar Onley, Dorian Godon, and K\u00e9vin Vauquelin all came to the team in the winter to fill high-stakes leadership positions.<\/p>\n

They all showed up.<\/p>\n

Godon harvested victories in tough guy sprints. The Frenchman was one of the revelations of the season.<\/p>\n

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Onley was denied the chance to do what he was signed for \u2013 lead the team at the Tour de France \u2013 due to injury. But the rising young Scot rebounded for sixth overall and the white jersey at La Vuelta.<\/p>\n

Vauquelin managed to get at least something on the board at the Giro d\u2019Abruzzo after he was whacked by sickness in summer and lost time on day 1 of the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good, but it\u2019s not good enough for a former powerhouse that still judges itself against its own past.<\/p>\n

Netcompany Ineos is looking beyond the results<\/h2>\n

Thomas was confident that there were green shoots behind a season of misfortunes and what-ifs.<\/p>\n

Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal put the team into the picture at the Giro d\u2019Italia while its three new leaders began to acclimate to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have said, \u2018you can say was our season good or bad?\u2019 And purely from results, I\u2019d say it definitely wasn\u2019t good,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel like Dorian, Oscar, and K\u00e9vin are all new to the team. That takes a bit of gelling,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fact that they executed is a big plus. I think they all learned. And I think they\u2019ll all take that forward, and it\u2019s part of that growing. They\u2019re all still young.\u201d<\/p>\n

The long-promised transition isn\u2019t over. It\u2019s only just starting for a team with a new identity and new leaders.<\/p>\n

What happens in 2027? Ganna leads exodus of talent<\/h2>\n
\"Ganna
Ganna broke his contract with Netcompany Ineos among an exodus of talent from the team.<\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The question is, can the transition hold momentum into 2027?<\/p>\n

Eight months after Netcompany bowled in, and a year after the arrival of Thomas, Onley and Godon, the team is facing more overhaul.<\/p>\n

Ganna, one of the team\u2019s biggest stars and a guaranteed source of time trial wins, broke his contract to join Lidl-Trek.<\/p>\n

Rising U.S. talents Artem Shmidt, Andrew August, and Magnus Sheffield are all leaving as part of a talent exodus that\u2019s seen eight riders find contracts elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Also, the retirement of Ben Swift feels symbolic. The 39-year-old was the one survivor of the original Sky team that once upended and then dominated the sport.<\/p>\n

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Netcompany Ineos 2026-27<\/h3>\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
In<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nOut<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Benjam\u00edn Noval<\/span><\/td>\nFilippo Ganna<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cl\u00e9ment Champoussin<\/span><\/td>\nMagnus Sheffield<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Joseph Blackmore<\/span><\/td>\nAndrew August<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
James Shaw<\/span><\/td>\nLaurens de Plus<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Harold Tejada<\/span><\/td>\nArtem Shmidt<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Marcel Beloki<\/span><\/td>\nBen Turner<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Michael Valgren<\/span><\/td>\nSam Welsford<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Riley Sheehan<\/span><\/td>\nVictor Langelotti<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Javier Romo<\/span><\/td>\nBob Jungels (retires)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ben Swift (retires)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Noval is the future for Netcompany Ineos?<\/h2>\n
Noval joins Netcompany Ineos hot off the back of road race and TT victory at junior worlds in Montr\u00e9al. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Netcompany Ineos might struggle to fill the void left by so many significant departees in 2027.<\/p>\n

After rumor of poaching Paul Seixas flittered out, the wannabe super team followed a moneyball recruitment policy focused on young talents or mid-career journeymen.<\/p>\n

Benjam\u00edn Noval is the headliner of the nine arrivals confirmed so far, despite him only being 18 years old. Netcompany Ineos saw so much potential in the kid\u00a0who dominated junior worlds that it reportedly gave him the biggest contract ever for a rider his age.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the time, team CEO John Allert said Noval is the team\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the heart of our team is a belief in long-term development and investing in the next generation of talent. Benjam\u00edn represents that future \u2013 and we\u2019re delighted he\u2019s chosen to grow and develop with us,\u201d Allert said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe foundations we will put in place for him ahead of 2027 will be designed to support performance but also his growth as an athlete and individual.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an era defined by Gen-Z phenoms, Netcompany Ineos\u2019 complete transition might rest in Noval\u2019s cleats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Updated November 6, 2026 08:07AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/netcompany-ineos-reboot-2026-definitely-wasnt-good\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/netcompany-ineos-26.jpg”] Updated November 6, 2026 08:07AM Netcompany Ineos is on the way back to its former glories \u2013 still. Speaking this week on his Watts Occurring podcast, team head of racing Geraint Thomas insisted that 2026 was only the start of the newly financed squad\u2019s quest to regain relevance in the WorldTour. \u201cIt\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2242467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2242467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242467\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2242467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2242467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2242467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}