Cycling: After a mixed season, the British team Ineos Grenadiers hit back in 2021. Egan Bernal won the Tour of Italy and the former Team Sky also drove extremely well through Spain and France.
Ineos Grenadiers 2021: Bernal is back to normal
In 2021, Team Ineos Grenadiers was once again among the strongest in road cycling. The British team owes its second place in the UCI WorldTour ranking primarily to Egan Bernal. After a slight dip in form the previous season, the Colombian was able to rediscover his top form and win the Giro d'Italia. Adam Yates secured a good result with fourth place overall at the Vuelta a España, and Richard Carapaz finished third at the Tour de France. All in all, the season was quite successful for the former Team Sky, even if they are still some way from the dominance of earlier days. The season was likely somewhat disappointing again for Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte . The discovery of the year, however, was undoubtedly Ethan Hayter. The 23-year-old Briton won the Tour of Norway and finished second in both the Volta ao Algarve and the Tour of Britain. Up until now, he was primarily known as a fast sprinter, but he could focus even more on the mountains and GC in the future.
Ineos Grenadiers 2022: what can Kim Heiduk show?
We can certainly expect another strong performance from Ineos Grenadiers in 2022. However, the British team will have to do without some key riders. Gianni Moscon, for example, almost won Paris-Roubaix. But the Italian, with his somewhat dubious reputation, opted for Astana. With Rohan Dennis and Ivan Sosa, Ineos Grenadiers loses at least two strong mountain domestiques. On the other hand, fans of the British team can look forward to Omar Fraile . The Spaniard is perfectly suited to be a strong support rider and for potential breakaway attempts in the mountains. Surprisingly, they have also secured a top sprinter in Elia Viviani . It will be interesting to see how the Italian is utilized. It's hard to imagine him riding the Tour de France. German fans also have reason to rejoice. Kim Heiduk , a strong talent, is joining the team. The 21-year-old previously rode for Lotto-Kern-Haus and is considered an all-rounder with ambitions for the Grand Prix. All in all, we can expect to see a change in team tactics once again. Previously dominant but uninspiring, Ineos Grenadiers now presents itself as offensive and aggressive. We will see this in the Grand Tours as well as in the most important one-day races. This team has ambitions on every terrain.