Ineos hope for AI inspiration with Netcompany deal

Ineos hope for AI inspiration with Netcompany dealImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ineos have won 16 races so far this seasonByMatt WarwickBBC Sport Senior JournalistPublished28 April 2026, 10:31 BSTUpdated 5 minutes agoIneos Grenadiers hope to utilise artificial intelligence to return the team to the top of cycling after agreeing a new deal with Danish IT supplier Netcompany. The team will be known as Netcompany-Ineos Cycling Team from next week's Giro d'Italia, and the five-year partnership means their annual budget will increase significantly to bring it into line with the sport's so-called 'super teams' such as that of current four-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar's UAE-Team Emirates-XRG.Pogacar, 27, is considered one of the sport's greatest ever talents, with the Paris-Roubaix the only significant race he has not won.Netcompany-Ineos achieved record success as Team Sky and Ineos, winning seven Tours de France between 2012 and 2019, two Giro d'Italia (2018 and 2021) and two Vuelta a Espana Grand Tours (2011 and 2017)."I think we'll get back to the top of the sport again - it's really exciting," director of racing and 2018 Tour de France champion for Team Sky Geraint Thomas told BBC Sport, adding: "The team has evolved a lot over the years - this is definitely, 3.0."Another Sunday In Hell: The brutal race that thwarts the greatsPublished13 AprilPogacar wins third-straight Liege-Bastogne-Liege titlePublished1 day agoCan AI decode 'blizzard of data' to topple Pogacar?Pogacar's UAE-Team Emirates-XRG wealth comes from the region's oil resources and so appears limitless, while other big-budget teams are the Netherlands' Visma-Lease a Bike of two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard and Germany's Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe who have Belgian superstar and Olympic road and time trial champion Remco Evenepoel.In a past three seasons, Ineos Grenadiers have fallen...