Team Ineos will be known as the Ineos Grenadiers from the start of this year’s Tour de France in a move designed to promote the sponsor’s new SUV, the British outfit said on Wednesday (AEST).
“The change will align the team with the Grenadier, a no-nonsense 4x4 vehicle designed, engineered and manufactured by Ineos Automotive,” Team Ineos said in a statement.
The Grenadier, designed to compete with the Land Rover, was unveiled this month and will go into production next year.
Ineos, a multinational petrochemical company founded by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, took over as main sponsor of Team Sky in 2019.
Ineos new SUV the Grenadier Source: Team Ineos
The team have won seven of the past eight Tours under general manager Dave Brailsford — six out of seven as Team Sky and one as Team Ineos last year.
Team Ineos, who will part ways with Britain’s most decorated road cyclist, four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, at the end of the season, have yet to announce their squad for this year’s Tour de France, which begins on 29 August in Nice.
Fans and pundits will no doubt recall the jersey the team wore specifically for the 2018 Tour de France featuring a whale and the hashtag #PassOnPlastic to highlight an environmental initiative of then sponsor Sky that highlighted the plastic pollution of oceans.
Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome on the 2018 Tour de France podium Source: Getty Images
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