Ineos Grenadiers CEO confident team’s budget is ‘everything it needs to be’

Much has been made of the Ineos Grenadiers’ overall budget in the last few years with reports that the British super team have curtailed their spending in recent years after the departure of Sky as the leading sponsor and the influence of current team owner Jim Ratcliffe.

However, according to new CEO John Allert the actual figure — which isn’t in the public domain — hasn’t shifted in recent times.

“We have a budget, and it’s a fixed budget. It’s not gone down in any way,” the Australian told GCN and other members of the media in a call this week.

“I think there’s a lot said of our budget but I believe that we have one that will allow us to win Grand Tour races. Whether it’s the largest budget in the sport, I’m no longer clear on that. I don’t have transparency on what other teams’ budgets are but we’ve certainly not had any dilution or increase in our budget. Our budget is everything we need it to be.”

Read more: Analysing the Ineos Grenadiers Giro d'Italia long list

Ineos remain in a transitional phase with Allert only stepping into the role over the last few months after the departure of Dave Brailsford. The founder or ‘godfather’ of the team as Allert described him during the week has taken on a more senior position at Ineos and will be tasked with turning the Manchester United juggernaut around after Ratcliffe bought a 25 per cent stake in the company that owns the currently mid-table football team.

Rod Ellingworth, who worked under Brailsford for over a decade, bar a short stint at Bahrain where he coincidentally worked for Allert, has also departed and Scott Drawer is set to join as the Head of Performance. According to Allert, the team will remain focused on stage racing success with Geraint Thomas leading the line at the Giro d’Italia as Carlos Rodriguez and Tom Pidcock pick up the leadership mantle at the Tour de France.

“We’ve adopted a structure that we think is going to give us the best opportunity to execute against a clear strategy that’s to focus on GC races. That’s been our heritage. We’ve got a structure in the team that is as clear as it’s ever been. I think that it’s no coincidence that the person responsible for our sporting performance [ed. Scott Drawer] is a scientist, an innovator, and a proven disruptor. He embraces data and technology, and I don’t think that alone will provide the answers, but we won’t leave a stone unturned in terms of trying to out-innovate our competition,” Allert confidently added.

Read more: Geraint Thomas: Ineos Grenadiers remind me of the early Team Sky years

Part of the narrative around Ineos’ transition has centred around the team’s transfers. They looked to recruit a GC rider in the off-season with Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel all linked to the team. No rider was surrounded in as much Ineos speculation as Evenepoel, however, with the Belgian rider first linked to the team back in 2022. The 'will he, won’t he' saga lasted over a year but looks to have quelled for the time being.

“I think 2023 was in danger of becoming a bit of a rider soap opera and I think a lot was written about not very much fact. I’m not going to add to that soap opera. I think that finished at the end of the year and we’re now into a new season with a new narrative. That’s what we’re focussed on,” Allert said.