Pauline Ferrand-Prévot takes 500th victory of Ineos Grenadiers' history

British team, formerly Team Sky, have won all three of the men's Grand Tours over the past 14 years, as Ferrand-Prévot seals their latest landmark in France

16:44, Sunday 17th March 2024

George Poole

Junior Writer

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Team Sky and Ineos Grenadiers have not only left their mark on professional road cycling, but also in mountain biking through Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (centre right)

A little over 14 years on from their highly-anticipated launch as Team Sky, the British outfit now known as Ineos Grenadiers have claimed their 500th victory in the team's decorated history.

The landmark moment was achieved by the first and only woman to have ridden professionally for Ineos Grenadiers, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who claimed a domineering victory in the XCO race at the French Cup in Marseille.

"Thank you to all our incredible riders, staff and fans over the years on helping us reach this fantastic milestone 🙌🥇👊," wrote the team on social media.

"Here’s to the next 500..."

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Competing in the rainbow bands as world champion, the Frenchwoman rode alone to the 49th victory of her mountain bike career, marking the moment that the British team have been building towards for the last almost decade and a half.

In that time, much has remained the same for the British-owned squad, Pinarello has been an ever-present bike manufacturer, and the team has retained its British core and loyal legion of fans both at home and abroad, but a lot has also changed at the same time.

Gone are many of the team's original figureheads: Bradley Wiggins has long been retired, Chris Froome departed for pastures new at the end of 2020 and Dave Brailsford, Fran Millar and Rod Ellingworth have all left their respective leadership roles over the past few years.

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It is fair to say the team are still in a transitional period as they look to return to the top step of the podium at the Tour de France, something they have achieved seven times in their history but not since Egan Bernal's victory in 2019.

Geraint Thomas, winner of the Tour in 2018, remains an outstanding team leader and perhaps the squad's best hope of winning a Grand Tour some six years on, whilst young talents continue to emerge in the shape of Josh Tarling, Carlos Rodríguez and Tom Pidcock.

But the team's days as the hegemon of the men's WorldTour peloton are long gone, and not since 2018 have they been able to notch up 40 victories in a season, a feat they were able to achieve three times in their first decade as a WorldTeam.

Team Sky, Ineos Grenadiers and the road to 500 victories

Announced to much fanfare in early 2009, Team Sky was built on the back of an incredibly successful 2008 Beijing Olympic Games for British Cycling which placed Dave Brailsford into the spotlight as one of the sport's brightest minds.

Tasked with building the nation's first WorldTour team, Brailsford promised Britain's first Tour de France champion within five years as the team launched in 2010, a statement that was roundly scoffed at by most in the sport. At this time, Tom Simpson remained the country's finest-ever cyclist and Wiggins' third-place finish at the 2009 Tour de France was very much an outlier.

Two years on and the team would stand triumphant on the Champs-Élysées, winners of the yellow jersey through Wiggins and of the Tour's iconic final stage through reigning world champion Mark Cavendish. It was, and remains to this day, the highlight of the team's now-14-year history.

Sir Bradley Wiggins fulfilled Dave Brailsford's promise with his commanding victory in the 2012 Tour de France, a moment that many thought may never come

Between the day that the flag dropped on Team Sky's existence in 2010 and Ferrand-Prévot's latest victory in mountain biking, success and scandal have oftentimes intertwined throughout the 14 and a bit seasons that have coloured the team's history books.

The seven Tour de France titles saw Team Sky (and Ineos Grenadiers in 2019) reign as the sport's leading team through the 2010s, with Wiggins' success in 2012 followed by Chris Froome on four occasions between 2013-2017, Geraint Thomas in 2018 and finally, Bernal in 2019.

Alongside these victories, the team were able to win the Giro d'Italia on three occasions through Froome (2018), Tao Geoghegan Hart (2020) and Bernal (2021), whilst the former added Vuelta a España titles in 2011 and 2017. But dominance came at a price for the team.

A House of Commons Committee report in 2018 claimed that the team had crossed an "ethical line" regarding Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) "to enhance the performance of riders," and former Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman was recently handed a four-year ban by UK Anti-Doping for his role in that controversy.

Nonetheless, Team Sky entered its latest era when Jim Ratcliffe brought his petrochemical billions to the sport in 2019 and purchased the team from Sky Group UK. Their stewardship of the team has been less successful, as the likes of UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike have caught up, and arguably surpassed, the team in recent years.

But their determination has remained steadfast through adversity and the team's repertoire has expanded away from road cycling. Pidcock won the Cyclo-cross world championships riding the team's bike in 2022, Ineos have supported Cameron Wurf's triathlon endeavours and Ferrand-Prévot became the team's first female athlete in 2023.

In taking the team's 500th victory on Sunday, Ferrand-Prévot has etched her name firmly into the British squad's history books, but it is unclear how much longer she will remain with the team.

The Frenchwoman's contract expires at the end of the season and as of yet, Ineos Grenadiers' have made no commitment to expand their women's roster and support the 32-year-old's desire to return to road racing. Only time will tell where her future may lie, but for the moment, the name Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will be lauded in the halls of Ineos Grenadiers.

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