Netcompany Ineos unveil striking new Tour de France tactic - but cruel twist ends yellow jersey dream in Barcelona team time trial
Updated 04/07/2026 at 21:14 GMT+1
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Netcompany Ineos have built a reputation for eking out every legal advantage and unveiled their latest innovation before the opening stage of the 2026 Tour de France at a sun-drenched Barcelona on Saturday afternoon.
Highlights: Vingegaard strikes first as Pogacar and UAE settle for third in TTT
Video credit: TNT Sports
The British team, formerly Team Sky, famously built an era of dominance around Sir Dave Brailsford's philosophy of "marginal gains", with every tiny improvement helping deliver seven Tour de France titles in the 2010s.
Although Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Jonas Vingegaard's Visma-Lease a Bike have since taken over as cycling's dominant forces, Ineos continue to search for every possible edge.
Ahead of Saturday's opening team time trial in Barcelona, they were spotted trialling an unusual cooling strategy in the sweltering 30-degree heat.
Rather than simply waiting on rollers or spinning their legs before the start, the Ineos riders sat shoulder-to-shoulder with their arms submerged in boxes filled with cold water in an effort to lower their core body temperature.
The eye-catching approach contrasted with the routines of the teams around them and quickly attracted attention before the riders rolled down the start ramp.
With the opening stage a team time trial and the yellow jersey on offer, Ineos had genuine hopes of ending a wait for a GC leader at the Tour that stretched back to Egan Bernal's overall Tour victory in 2019.
Kevin Vauquelin was expected to lead the charge, with the team's finishing time set to be taken from the first rider across the line in a new twist on the format.
But after all that preparation, luck deserted them.
Vauquelin suffered a puncture during the stage, ending his hopes of pulling on the yellow jersey before the finish, while Bernal also dropped off the pace after an explosive start.
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'He will be gutted' - Vauquelin punctures as yellow jersey hopes vanish
Video credit: TNT Sports
Filippo Ganna almost rescued the day with a superb ride on the final climb, but Vingegaard powered Visma to victory as Ineos were knocked off top spot by eight seconds.
They had the unlikely consolation prize of Bernal taking the green jersey after he fronted the Ineos train through the first intermediate time check in the quickest time.
And Ganna will have outside hopes of taking yellow on Stage 2, which features a fast and lumpy final circuit in Barcelona.
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Highlights: Vingegaard strikes first as Pogacar and UAE settle for third in TTT
Video credit: TNT Sports
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