- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
INEOS_Grenadier_Image_9bTeam Ineos to change name to Ineos Grenadiers ahead of Tour de France
It may sound like an NFL franchise, or perhaps a rival fan group to the TdF Beefeaters, but Team Ineos is changing its name to the Ineos Grenadiers, effective from the start of the Tour de France next month.
According to a brief statement from the team this morning, the change is designed to “align the team” with the Grenadier 4x4 vehicle from its owner and sponsor which will go into production next year.
Confirmed the name change Team Ineos said that its “new name and brand will officially launch in the week leading up to the Tour de France in Nice,” with the race itself due to start on 29 August.
A report from the Italian magazine Tutto Bici this morning also suggested that it will adopt a new blue kit to replace its existing red and black colours.
TuttoBici, which first reported the potential changes last month, says that the British WorldTour team has written to the UCI to make a formal request to change its name and kit.
UCI regulations permit teams to change their name and/or kit once a season, something that Team Ineos, then racing as Team Sky, has done on three previous occasions.
In the 2010 Tour of Britain, it replaced the blue band on its kit with a green band in support of its sponsors Rainforest Rescue initiative, and the same kit returned for the following year’s Tour de France.
More recently, in 2018, Team Sky riders wore a one-off white and black kit tying in with the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign.
Last year, when Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group bought the team and took over its sponsorship form Sky, both the name and the kit were changed ahead of the Giro d’Italia.
Bearing a striking resemblance to the Land Rover Defender, which ceased production in 2016 (the name has since been revised but in a very different-looking vehicle), the Grenadier was formally unveiled earlier this month.
It is named after the Belgravia pub where Ratcliffe is said to have had the inspiration for the vehicle, having “identified a gap in the market for a stripped back, utilitarian, hard-working 4x4 vehicle, built on purpose.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- Bungle_52 2 sec ago
In case anyone missed it in yesterdays blog here are the two pevious articles. The second one contains the testimony from the driver....
- bensynnock 4 min 29 sec ago
My understanding is that you have to sue for some crazy amount or you won't be taken seriously.
- David9694 8 min 46 sec ago
The old role was appointed at the Mayor's pleasure; is in addition to the permanent staff of the Combined Authority. I'm not sure if Adam was an...
- chrisonabike 13 min 43 sec ago
Ah... but which civilisation? If arguing from precedent (or even "moral ground") - with the benefit of almost no political, historical knowledge...
- WillPage 1 hour 34 min ago
Nothing says "welcoming environment" like uniformed thugs, umm I mean "security patrols " roaming the area.
- galibiervelo 2 hours 52 min ago
That is class news. Super bikes and vision. Bet there will be no stand at the Taiwan bike show next year! Big luck to all the team
- Destroyer666 3 hours 34 min ago
Pretty clearly stated several times in the text that the issue was not related just to his son. And besides, everybody watching the races could see...
- Rendel Harris 3 hours 50 min ago
All Fizik and Selle Italia saddles (though not all their other products) are made in Italy I believe, and their 3D printed models definitely are.
- chrisonabike 4 hours 16 min ago
If you're not on the road with a car, I bet its driver is much less likely to swerve into your space *. Because you're not "in the way"! (Any...
- mdavidford 4 hours 32 min ago
The problem with this argument, though, is that it's just not true....
Add new comment
32 comments
It sounds like the name of a Sunday league team
A road cycling team sponsored by an off-road vehicle.
Lol. Peak nonsense.
Indeed, why can't they get sensible sponsor sectors like flooring, shampoo, extractor fans, or glue ?
Just FYI, the Grenadier isn't a Chelsea tractor - it's far too utilitarian. It's aimed at farmers and the like, who can no longer buy something from Land Rover that isn't a chintzy Chelsea tractor.
A bit like a Mercedes G Class then, farmers love those. I see loads of them driving back and forth between their various London smallholdings
Yes it's when they say on the intro video,weve designed the interior so it can be hosed down to clean it...you realise this isnt some poseurs 4x4 to do the school run in & stop for socially distanced afternoon tea at Claridge's, its a utility vehicle with a capital U.
A feature also valued by Russian oligarchs and Saudi consulate staff. So the underground car parks of million-pound-per-unit apartment buildings will probably be full of them. And the streets outside dinner parties for Conservative Party donors.
Just FYI, where I live there are loads of 'lifestyle' Defender owners. Unfortunately I know some of them. They might occasionally stick a canoe on the roof to complete the look but otherwise these things have or are never going to see anything more than a pothole. Don't get me started on them having the wading kits stuck on just to complete 'the look'. 90% of these Grenadiers will be the same and Ratcliffe knows it.
I'm surprised that Ratcliffe hasn't also sought the LTDA as co-sponsors just to make the entire team image as anti-green as possible?
How is that Grenadier going to make it to production? Its just a Landy 110 which I understood was retired due to brick shaped fuel inefficiency and also a safety hazard to peds and anyone else unfortunate to connect with the blocky front end. Presumably the maker is trusting in Boris moving to US standards of car fuel efficiency and safety very soon?
I pity the poor riders who are going to be "car salesmen" to sell this old dinosaur.
Unless their business model is based on selling within the U.K. only, they'll have to stick within global minimums. California laws are stricter than European in many cases, although Euro laws are as close as there is to a global standard
this is the problem with sports sponsors, you get used to a healthy budget then your funding gets lifted when they leave so you scratch around for another high bidder and before you know it you're riding for Team Tena-Anusol
It certainly is annoying when you build one by mistake. I did that very thing the other day, and I had to crash test it, do emissions tests, and set up a network of dealers. It was a total pain in the arse. Plus, I don't have Ratcliffe's billions, so was drinking in a less posh establishment at the time, and therefore my sponsorship deal is with what is now known as the AG2R La Slug and Lettuce team.
Jesus Christ. I really hope commentators still keep 'accidentally' calling them Team Sky. It wouldn't be so bad if the weren't a godawful wankpanzer. But it would still be pretty bad.
i wish they were still Team Sky, now that Sky is more palatable since Rupert Murdoch has nothing to do with them.
To be fair, equipping cyclists with grenades might make motorists think twice about punishment passes.
No wonder Froome wanted to leave. This is an embarrassment...
Hopefully Thomas will join him soon
Does this make the vehicle a 'Belgravia tractor' if its named after the Grenadier pub?
They seem to be having more kit changes than a Premiership football team.
O K, I think i just threw up in my mouth a little, hopefully nairo is back on form this year
I'd normally support a home grown venture but the last thing we need is more gas guzzling Chelsea tractors on the roads. I'm so pleased Chris Froome has got out of this team as I highly respect him as a rider but had serious reservations about Ineos' takeover of the Sky Team but this is the nail in coffin as far as I'm concerned.
If Ineos want to get into the car sector then surely they should be developing an EV, which at least would have some green credentials to connect it with cycling.
Might call them Team Sky Defenders for fun.
“align the team” - ??
Isn't the team more often than not aligned anyway? Frequently on the front of the peleton.
I suspect there might be few drafting fines if they're going to start aligning them with a 4x4 though.
To be fair, equipping cyclists with grenades would at least even the odds against motorised vehicles.
So there's a massive car park full of these obcenities that they can't shift. Oh dear, what a shame, never mind eh.
They haven't built them yet. The plan was to build them in Wales, but they're now in talks to take over a plant from Mercedes in France due to brexit uncertainties
...caused in no small part by one Sir James ("call me Jim") Ratcliffe.
Pricks.
What better audience could there be to sell your massive 4x4 to
Have you seen how many cars have bikes on? As the cycling sector has grown recently, I am willing to bet the part of it strapped to auto has grown more. So sad. Adventures start best from the front door.
Pages