“Team Circus continues”: Tom Pidcock dropped by Ineos due to risk of bonus payout claims Brian Smith, who says there’s “no fun in numbers-driven cycling anymore” as “gagged” Steve Cummings confirms exit; Everesting on a unicycle + more on the live blog

Just when you thought a week would go by without some Ineos-related drama (in cycling at least), think again.

Last night, after months of speculation about his future at the team, director of racing Steve Cummings confirmed his departure from the Ineos Grenadiers, writing on LinkedIn that he had “reached a decision to step away” from the British team.

Two-time Tour de France stage winner Cummings, who was promoted to a senior management role at Ineos at the end of 2023, was last seen at a race in June at the Critérium du Dauphiné (where he had an infamous and tetchy stand-off with our YouTuber-in-chief Jamie over us capturing footage of the new Pinarello Dogma).

> road.cc CANCELLED by Ineos! What happened when we tried to take pics of the new Pinarello Dogma

He was then left out of the team’s Tour de France DS line-up, amid reports of internal tension, especially with star rider Tom Pidcock, and didn’t appear in the Ineos team car, or in any capacity at any race, for the remainder of this season.

However, until now there has been little official confirmation about Cummings’ position within the team, and he was notably left out of last month’s press release detailing the latest structural and staff changes at the squad, which announced the arrival of his former Sky teammate Kurt-Asle Arvesen as a sport director.

(Ross Cooke/INEOS Grenadiers)

But on Tuesday evening, Cummings decided to finally set the record straight.

“I’m aware there has been some speculation so I just wanted to clarify my situation,” the 43-year-old posted on LinkedIn, which also includes confirmation that he departed Ineos this month, while listing his current position as ‘race coach/sports director’ as “TBC”.

“I’ve reached the decision to step away from Ineos,” he continued. “This may seem like a big move, but I’m now ready to begin a new phase of my career. It’s been a privilege to work with such a talented group of riders and staff for the last four years. I’d really like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support and dedication.

“I’ve always enjoyed and thrived working in a high-performance environment and I will continue to have significant involvement in the sport. My focus is now on a new challenge within professional cycling.”

> “I’ve had a tricky year working with them. And once I was leaving, it was even trickier”: Soudal Quick-Step-bound Ethan Hayter latest to publicly criticise Ineos Grenadiers, claiming British team “could do with a couple of changes”

Cummings’ confirmation marks the culmination of a turbulent year for the Ineos Grenadiers – the least successful in the team’s 15-year history – which saw departing figures such as Dan Bigham and Ethan Hayter publicly criticise the team and the approach of its management, while Tom Pidcock also questioned Cummings’ input at the Tour, before claiming that Ineos “don’t help me to perform at my best” amid a number of internal issues.

(Will Palmer/SWpix.com)

Pidcock was then dramatically dropped at the last minute from their Il Lombardia line-up – a decision the team’s higher ups confirmed was not based on form – kicking off what has become a protracted and complicated transfer saga (which, for the moment at least, appears to have cooled after the Olympic mountain bike champion was spotted with his teammates watching Ineos-run Manchester United’s match with Chelsea at the weekend. The poor fella).

All of these shenanigans – and Cummings’ departure – has prompted two-time British champion Brian Smith to share his concerns with the squad he not so tactfully described as “Team Circus” in a withering Twitter thread this morning.

 (Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

In the lengthy post, Eurosport commentator Smith claimed that the 2016 Tour of Britain winner was “gagged” during his time as DS at the squad and that Pidcock was dropped from Il Lombardia over fears Ineos would have to pay him a performance bonus following a good result.

“No real surprise to see Steve Cummings leave Team Ineos,” Smith, who worked with Cummings when the Scot was general manager of MTN-Qhubeka (which has now morphed into Q36.5) during the mid-2010s, wrote.

“Must be hard to do your job when gagged for most of the year. One of their biggest assets with be a major boost for any other team.”

> “People around Tom Pidcock don’t help,” says Geraint Thomas, as 2018 Tour de France winner weighs in on “c*** situation” and “bull****” at Ineos after Il Lombardia deselection drama

Turning to the Pidcock saga, Smith said: “Team Circus continues, after allowing your marquee rider to leave the team while willing to pay 20 per cent of his salary then doing a U-turn to keep him. Not sure this is over.

“Ivan Glasenberg has invested in Q36.5 and owns Pinarello. A match for Pidcock who was keen on the move.

“These decisions were helped by Team Circus pulling Pidcock from Lombardia. Why you may ask? Had the form, thought he could win but did not want to risk paying the high bonus.

“Talking about bonuses. This thwarted the signing of Castrillo from Kern Pharma,” he added, referencing double Vuelta winner Pablo Castrillo’s move to Movistar this winter, after reports he was set to sign a deal with Ineos before his breakthrough ride in Spain.

(Elliot Keen/British Cycling/via SWpix.com)

Moving onto the changes within the sport over the past few years, and its apparent reliance on numbers, former Motorola pro Smith said: “There is no fun in cycling teams anymore. Science has killed this. Robotic riders and robotic sports directors.

“Gone are the GRINTA [Italian for ‘guts’] days. Riders now know what they can achieve, what they are up against and turn up at races in a poor mental health state.

“That’s what numbers do to riders. The mental state of a rider is now being left at the side of the road because of the numbers game.

“Altitude, haemoglobin muscle testing, scientists seem to be the way forward. If a rider is not happy then you are flogging a dead horse.

“This is where a team needs people like Steve Cummings and not more personnel with letters after their name.”

In another worrying development for the cycling industry, Scottish-based cyclewear manufacturer Endura – which had appeared to be weathering the recent storms more ably than most – has posted a whopping £14m loss, the brand’s first loss since 2019.

The Edinburgh-based company posted its annual accounts yesterday, first reported by Cycling Weekly, detailing a pre-tax loss of £14,119,000 during the 13 months leading up to February 2024.

The latest accounts mark a dramatic fall from Endura’s position the previous year, when they recorded a profit of £759,000 at the end of 2022.

That £14m loss was attributed by company director Andrew Long to the “large reduction in sales” – which dropped from £40.8m the previous year to £28.5m in 2023, while gross profit fell from £18.8m to just £3.7m – filtering into a “significant loss in the year”.

> "Survive until 2025... if we can get to the end of this year, we'll be okay": British bike manufacturers hoping to make it through industry woes

Some of the company’s losses also came, Long says, from “impairment” of inventory, with the value of its stock drawn down in value by £2.8m.

“The movement in the period is due to a reduction in sales, primarily in the United Kingdom region, which reflected challenging market conditions found throughout the cycling industry after unforeseen growth during the Covid pandemic,” Endura’s company director said in the accounts.

“The challenging market is even more evident in the turnover figures given we have an extended year end this year.”

A lovely morning this morning on #cycleway4. It wasn't supposed to be this busy with 37 cyclists outnumbering the 28 cars who aren't also caught up in traffic and moving freely. It's November too!! Haven't the cyclists heard it's far too unpleasant cycling this time of year?? pic.twitter.com/w66kMWnLKQ

— Greg N (@n00dles71) November 5, 2024

 

 

 

 

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