When the peloton departs Venaria Reale in Turin for the first stage of the Giro d’Italia, there’s more than just the pink jersey riding on it for Geraint Thomas and Ineos.
Because the chemical company’s founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a sporting portfolio which is struggling to produce results.
Across sailing, Formula 1, cycling and football – where he recently completed a recent investment in Premier League giants Manchester United – the Ineos associated teams are struggling to reach the high highs many would have hoped given the billions in backing available.
Not since this Grand Tour in 2021 and 2020 have Ineos experienced having a rider on the top step of the podium come the concluding stage of one of the big annual cycling events.
And their only other taste of success outside of the Giro was in 2019 during the Tour de France.
For a cycling outfit that took over from the conquering Team Sky – albeit they were attached to some controversy with cycling guru Sir Dave Brailsford, who now works with Ratcliffe – three tour wins in the last 15 is hardly a good return.
But that’s not uncommon for Ineos at the moment.
On the Ratcliffe bus
Ineos-owned Lausanne finished a lowly eighth in the regular Swiss Super League this season while fellow club Nice – of Ligue 1 – are looking to hang on to the final European qualifying spot in fifth.
Their latest acquisition – a 27 per cent stake in Manchester United – are struggling by their standards, too, and are set to miss out on Champions League football this season.
But it is not just the beautiful game, it’s other disciplines where the spark is yet to be ignited.
Ineos’ sponsorship of the America’s Cup team has returned little in terms of victories, Ben Ainslie’s side finished in the bottom two of the first two qualification rounds.
Since Ratcliffe’s firm became a one third equal shareholder in Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, driver Lewis Hamilton lost a controversial race to lose the world title while the team have failed to challenge sustainability since.
And the All Blacks, once the best team in the world, have dipped in form – albeit from their very high standards – since 2021, when Ineos entered.
No one is saying Ratcliffe and Ineos are to blame, but this trend represents just how difficult the very top end of elite sport can be.
So, therefore, the Giro can be the firing shot that gets Ineos out of the blocks in 2024, and onto a winner.
It could be the boost the group needs to push on across multiple sports and, in cycling terms, could be the catalyst towards getting Ineos back on the top step of the Tour de France podium, which will this year be in Nice due to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
To do that, though, they’re going to need to circumvent the small obstacle of overwhelming Tadej Pogačar, but that’s a story for another day.
Last time out