According to The Guardian, the upcoming Tour de France will see petrochemical giant Ineos making way for Danish tech firm Netcompany in the main title sponsor role of the team currently called the Ineos Grenadiers. The name change – and new kit – reportedly comes with a hefty cash infusion from the incoming partner to the tune of about €100 million total over the next five years.
The Guardian reports that Ineos and TotalEnergies will both continue to back the team, with Ineos' billionaire owner Jim Ratcliffe maintaining his control of the organization amid the rebrand, but Ineos will give up first-line sponsor rights.
Dane Cash
The news is the culmination of a lengthy search by the squad, formerly Team Sky, to find new backers as Ratcliffe and Ineos head of sport Dave Brailsford have sought to keep up with ever-increasing budgets across the WorldTour. In its heyday as the dominant Grand Tour squad in cycling, Sky consistently topped the list of big spenders in the pro peloton, with an estimated budget of around €40 million at the end of the 2010s. Other teams have since caught up with and even surpassed the Ineos Grenadiers; UAE Team Emirates-XRG is now estimated to have nearly €60 million at its disposal.