The Ineos Grenadiers Cycling Team will be renamed Netcompany Ineos Cycling Team and race in new colours from the start of the 2026 Giro d’Italia.
The new name and kit come as Britain’s only WorldTour cycling team has today announced a new co-title partnership with Netcompany, which it describes as “one of Europe’s most ambitious technology companies”.
At the heart of the partnership will be Netcompany’s Artificial Intelligence platform, Pulse, which is already used in Munich and Heathrow airports.
This will be the first major deployment of Pulse in elite sport and the partnership “will focus on the co-development of a model designed with the potential to shape the future of performance optimisation”.
Sir Dave Brailsford, team principal and director of sport at Ineos, described the partnership as “one of the most significant” in cycling.
“Our sport is a human endeavour, where decisions in training, racing and recovery make the difference every day. We have no shortage of data – the real challenge is turning it into simple, practical actions and delivering them consistently.
“With Netcompany, we can do that better. Pulse allows us to orchestrate our data into clear insights that support faster, better decisions when it matters most,” said Brailsford.
For Brailsford, this all boils down to the objective long held by his team since its early days as Team Sky: to win the Tour de France.
In recent years, the team’s success has waned, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Team Visma–Lease a Bike dominating the Grand Tours.
But this partnership could be seen as putting the newly named Netcompany Ineos Cycling Team back in the running – if the AI-enhanced performance trend in cycling is your measure.
Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG team has been working with UAE tech partners for several years to create its own AI data platform. It reportedly has an AI bot called ‘Ana’, which analyses data sets and translates them into strategies such as recovery, training and even tyre recommendations.
Team Visma–Lease a Bike has also announced a partnership with Mistral AI. The team plans to use the AI platform to enhance performance and decision making.
The team’s head of strategy, Patrick Broe, said: “In today’s high-performance cycling, data is everywhere, and leveraging AI is essential to staying competitive. Mistral AI is a global leader in helping organisations unlock the full potential of AI and we look forward to working closely together to drive successes on the road.”
Aside from performance, the partnership offers Netcompany the opportunity to further its “long-term sovereign European tech growth strategy”.
“This partnership supports our strategic ambition to accelerate growth across Europe by demonstrating the impact of cutting-edge technology and AI at the highest level of sport,” said André Rogaczewski, CEO and co-founder of Netcompany.
Geraint Thomas, director of racing at Netcompany Ineos Cycling Team, said: “From my side, it’s about creating an environment where riders can focus fully on racing, while the team around them is connected and making the best possible decisions. If we get that balance right, it will make a real difference when it counts.”
