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Geraint Thomas insists money can't buy success in cyclingGeraint Thomas on Tour de France 2018 podium.JPG

Geraint Thomas insists money can't buy success in cycling

Tour de France champion reflects on Ineos buying Team Sky - and expects things to stay much as they are
by Simon_MacMichael
Sun, Apr 07, 2019 20:36
10

Geraint Thomas insists that money doesn’t buy success in cycling, despite the takeover of Team Sky by petrochemicals giant Ineos that is expected to see the richest team in cycling enjoy even more financial clout.

Writing in his monthly column in GQ magazine, the 32-year-old said that the change in ownership “won’t make much difference to how things run day-to-day,” and attributed Team Sky’s dominance of the Tour de France, to making the race the focus of its season.

The Welshman’s victory in last season’s race was the sixth for Team Sky in seven years, following Sir Bradley Wiggins’ win in 2012 and Chris Froome’s four triumphs from 2013-17, only Vincenzo Nibali in 2014 breaking its grip on the yellow jersey.

The change in ownership takes effect from 1 May, with Team Ineos making its debut at the Tour de Yorkshire, where protests are expected against the new sponsor from anti-fracking campaigners.

“From my point of view, everything just stays the same despite the change in sponsor,” Thomas wrote.

“Ineos takes over Tour Racing, the company that owns the team, so they also take over all the current contracts. Nothing really changes; it’s the same staff and riders, and the mindset of the team is the same. The thing that we’re most happy about is that we all get to stay together.”

Pointing out that the team’s senior management is largely unchanged and that he is “good friends” with many of the riders, Thomas said, “we’re like a family.”

He continued: “The fact that Ineos came on is brilliant and the fact that they’re British is an extra bonus. The whole mentality of the team will stay the same.

“Of course, Ineos will have their own ethos and targets to measure success, but Dave [Brailsford] still controls everything. The philosophy of the team will remain as it was.”

Thomas rejected the notion that financial clout explained his team’s success, saying: “In cycling, you can’t buy success, which is how Team Sky’s sponsorship is portrayed a lot of the time.

“Of course money helps sign good riders, but it all depends on how you run the team and what you do with it.

“The main reason we are successful, I think, is the fact that we focus on the Tour De France: it’s the main goal of the year and therefore we’re in the public eye because it’s so high‐profile.”

“Our sole aim there is winning that yellow jersey,” he said. “There’s no egos in the team – it’s all about that common goal.”

Thomas maintained that “there are two or three other teams on similar budgets to ours that are nowhere near as successful,” and while he acknowledged “you’ve got a better chance at the big races if you’ve got a bit of money,” it was spending its budget carefully helped explain Team Sky’s success.”

Looking ahead, Thomas expects that the team can help learn lessons the Americas Cup challenge being led by Sir Ben Ainslie, which is also sponsored by Ineos.

“In the past we’ve talked to the Mercedes Formula One team – they were giving us insight into aerodynamics. You can learn from other sports,” he said.

“You have to think outside the box and look for opportunities to collaborate; after all, you can give anyone a big pot of cash but if they don’t spend it the right way then it’s pointless. There are other ways to go forward that are just as beneficial.”

“Even the way they run their team, and the way they challenge themselves to achieve different things, can probably teach us things when it comes to cycling.

“There might not be much we can learn from their physical training, but the way they prepare mentally could really be interesting,” he added.

Geraint Thomas
Team Sky
Team Ineos
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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10 comments

Avatar
leaway2 | 5 years ago
1 like

There are other team sponsors in the peloton with more dubious credentials. This nothing new.

Avatar
Rich_cb | 5 years ago
1 like

If you consume plastic/petrol/oil/natural gas etc. then you contribute to the profits of companies like INEOS and create the economic conditions that lead to fracking.

You want to make INEOS change their behaviour?

Stop buying their products.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Rich_cb | 5 years ago
0 likes

Rich_cb wrote:

If you consume plastic/petrol/oil/natural gas etc. then you contribute to the profits of companies like INEOS and create the economic conditions that lead to fracking. You want to make INEOS change their behaviour? Stop buying their products.

That's the spirit comrade

 

Avatar
HarrogateSpa | 5 years ago
1 like

So you want him to resign ? would you do the same if they took over the company you work for ? Do you have a carbon bike ? have you now sold it and almost certainly their chemicals are int he resign ? have you checked if any of their chemicals are in your tyres ? if so have you changed brands ? 

I am dead against Fracking, the fault lies with the government for allowing it, not the company for wanting to do it., likewise he has no real choice over the sponser and to ask him to resign or move to another team is absolutely absurd.

Straw man.

Avatar
alotronic replied to HarrogateSpa | 5 years ago
0 likes

HarrogateSpa wrote:

So you want him to resign ? would you do the same if they took over the company you work for ? Do you have a carbon bike ? have you now sold it and almost certainly their chemicals are int he resign ? have you checked if any of their chemicals are in your tyres ? if so have you changed brands ? 

I am dead against Fracking, the fault lies with the government for allowing it, not the company for wanting to do it., likewise he has no real choice over the sponser and to ask him to resign or move to another team is absolutely absurd.

Straw man.

Got a hit 1

Avatar
HarrogateSpa | 5 years ago
3 likes

I can understand why Thomas would want to ignore/not think about what Ineos do. The reality is that he and the other riders are going to be promoting the company, and they do have to take some responsibility for its activities.

Sky probably weren't to everyone's taste, but a company that wants to frack Yorkshire, and is actively contributing to the plastic waste crisis and climate breakdown...might be a step too far.

Avatar
skeuomorph replied to HarrogateSpa | 5 years ago
2 likes
HarrogateSpa wrote:

I can understand why Thomas would want to ignore/not think about what Ineos do. The reality is that he and the other riders are going to be promoting the company, and they do have to take some responsibility for its activities.

Sky probably weren't to everyone's taste, but a company that wants to frack Yorkshire, and is actively contributing to the plastic waste crisis and climate breakdown...might be a step too far.

Fully agree. It'd be nice to see the riders quizzed on this.

Avatar
alotronic replied to skeuomorph | 5 years ago
3 likes

skeuomorph wrote:
HarrogateSpa wrote:

I can understand why Thomas would want to ignore/not think about what Ineos do. The reality is that he and the other riders are going to be promoting the company, and they do have to take some responsibility for its activities.

Sky probably weren't to everyone's taste, but a company that wants to frack Yorkshire, and is actively contributing to the plastic waste crisis and climate breakdown...might be a step too far.

Fully agree. It'd be nice to see the riders quizzed on this.

Agreed. Fully expect protests in Yorkshire, I mean FFS! I fully accept the commercial nature of bike racing but this one is even better than 'Green edge' being connected with mining in Austrialia. Which is to say much much worse. And I though Sky were a bit sh*t as a company.

As for the 'it isn't about the money' that's a bit like saying it's not me being a white middle class straight male that counts in the workplace, it's what I do with it. Well, kinda. If I was a zesty millenial I'd be saying check your privledge 1

Avatar
bigbiker101 replied to HarrogateSpa | 5 years ago
2 likes

HarrogateSpa wrote:

I can understand why Thomas would want to ignore/not think about what Ineos do. The reality is that he and the other riders are going to be promoting the company, and they do have to take some responsibility for its activities.

Sky probably weren't to everyone's taste, but a company that wants to frack Yorkshire, and is actively contributing to the plastic waste crisis and climate breakdown...might be a step too far.

So you want him to resign ? would you do the same if they took over the company you work for ? Do you have a carbon bike ? have you now sold it and almost certainly their chemicals are int he resign ? have you checked if any of their chemicals are in your tyres ? if so have you changed brands ? 

I am dead against Fracking, the fault lies with the government for allowing it, not the company for wanting to do it., likewise he has no real choice over the sponser and to ask him to resign or move to another team is absolutely absurd.

Avatar
alotronic replied to bigbiker101 | 5 years ago
2 likes

bigbiker101 wrote:

HarrogateSpa wrote:

I can understand why Thomas would want to ignore/not think about what Ineos do. The reality is that he and the other riders are going to be promoting the company, and they do have to take some responsibility for its activities.

Sky probably weren't to everyone's taste, but a company that wants to frack Yorkshire, and is actively contributing to the plastic waste crisis and climate breakdown...might be a step too far.

So you want him to resign ? would you do the same if they took over the company you work for ? Do you have a carbon bike ? have you now sold it and almost certainly their chemicals are int he resign ? have you checked if any of their chemicals are in your tyres ? if so have you changed brands ? 

I am dead against Fracking, the fault lies with the government for allowing it, not the company for wanting to do it., likewise he has no real choice over the sponser and to ask him to resign or move to another team is absolutely absurd.

 

Well some of do actually choose our emplyment and *some* of our financial products on ethical grounds, so why not? I am adult enough to make that choice and of course I don't *expect* Thomas is going to change his employer because they are shits, but he *could*, there is nothing stopping him.

You also can't really play the zero-sum game - we all know that we are all implicated directly or by proxy in ethically poor or exploitive behavior.

I find your idea that if an opportunity exists it is a companies duty to exploit it as weird.  To be clear it's major underpinnin of cpaitalism, but I still find it wierd. Everyone, individuals, companies, govs make active choices and, while there are no easy, clear ways to live a pure life to say they have no repsonsibility for those choices is a bit easy. 

I agree that he has no choice over sponsor and he won't move team because of it and that the prvious post is perhaps naive there. But I have never been much of a Sky supporter and I realise that thinking Ineos is a deal with (an even bigger) devil makes sfa difference in the real world, but I also think cycling without a moral dimension is just US Postal, and I think we can do better than that at least!

 

 

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