INEOS’s move to cut ties with Tom Pidcock makes sense to Jens Voigt: “One bad apple spoils the whole basket.”

The INEOS Grenadiers and Tom Pidcock are no longer getting along. After four years with the team, the two-time Olympic winner was allowed to leave by mutual agreement because of problems on the team over the last year.

“A lot has gone wrong in the relationship between INEOS Grenadiers and Tom Pidcock,” says Jens Voigt, an expert on Eurosport, after the British player’s return was confirmed. At INEOS, I got the sense that they wanted Pidcock to be in the top ten of the Tour de France overall this year. He’s very classy as a two-time Olympic winner, but that’s not for him. He’s too bold and exciting to hide, and he’ll only speed up when the other favorites are already ahead. He could win ten Tour stages and a few races over the next few years, but he’s not the type of rider who would finish third in a Grand Tour.

Tom still wants to race his mountain bike and in cross-country events. INEOS doesn’t want that as a road team, though. The very experienced German goes on, “That’s why I think they just didn’t agree on anything fundamental.” Another thing is that Steve Cummings, the sports director, was fired before the Vuelta a España because he didn’t agree with Pidcock. It was pretty clear from the start that there would be no happy finish. Because something is very wrong if a rider can choose who works on a team.

That being said, Pidcock was under contract with INEOS until 2027, so it’s a little strange that the team let their star rider leave so quickly. However, Voigt thinks that the choice is the best thing for everyone. “It’s still not common for contracts to be broken in cycling.” It doesn’t make sense to make a rider stay if he wants to leave. “One bad apple ruins the bunch,” Voigt thinks. “Maybe a deal could be made so that he pays off the rest of his contract and gets out of it, or the new team could take over some of it.” They may have told Tom, “The tablecloth is cut; let’s tear up the contract and go our separate ways.”

“INEOS isn’t one of the best teams in the World Tour anymore.” “They are trying to find their way again because they haven’t won a Grand Tour in years,” Voigt says. Most of the sports leaders quit the team and went to work for Manchester United after Jim Ratcliffe bought the team. At the time, investors don’t seem to be too interested in INEOS Grenadiers. They seem to be the odd one out; no one wants to play with them.

But when it comes to Pidcock, Voigt thinks that if this move is handled well, the Brit could do very well. He needs to find a team where he is the only leader, like Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Mathieu van der Poel. He needs a group that lets him make his own schedule. That’s not the same when you have a big race team. They tell you when to ride and pay you. He says, “He’ll probably have to move to a smaller team that can still afford him.” “He has a lot to do with Q36.5 because Vincenzo Nibali works there as an advisor.” He would definitely be able to do what he wants there. But he doesn’t have many options. There aren’t many teams left that have room for him and the resources to do so.

“He is confident in himself without being cocky.” He is very sure of himself. He told us that he wants to be the first rider to win world titles in road, cross, and mountain biking all in the same year. And that’s not just stupid; he has a good chance of doing it. He might not always be easy to deal with, but he is often both smart and crazy at the same time. “When you bring in such a strong athlete, it’s always a balancing act,” Voigt says. “It makes sense to think about this link since Pidcock also rides with a Red Bull hat. But at Red Bull – BORA – Hansgrohe, he wouldn’t be able to ride racing and mountain bikes as well as road bikes.