Geraint Thomas 'pretty sure' of Ineos management role in 2026
The Welshman is riding his final Tour de France before hanging up his wheels, but he has given his firmest indication yet that he will remain with Ineos Grenadiers after his racing careers end.
Geraint Thomas has indicated that he is likely to stay with Ineos Grenadiers in a management role after he retires at the end of this season.
The Times reported in June that Dave Brailsford’s return to the day-to-day operations of the team would see him prepare Thomas for a role in management, though the rider preferred not to speak on the matter at Ineos’ pre-Tour de France press conference.
In an interview with Sporza’s ‘Vive Le Vélo’ show broadcast on Friday evening, however, Thomas confirmed that he was in talks with Ineos about a position on the staff in 2026.
“I definitely want to stay in the sport. I’m speaking to the team now,” Thomas said. “Obviously Dave is back, he’s a lot more involved so I’m pretty sure I’ll have a role within the team. I’d love to help to bring this team back to where it deserves to be.”
Brailsford was sidelined from his role at Manchester United after the club’s disappointing 2024/25 season, officially reverting to a position across Ineos’ sporting interests. Ineos Grenadiers CEO John Allert confirmed before the Tour that Brailsford had been “welcomed back into the team with open arms.”
Brailsford has been present throughout this year’s Tour, but he has refused to answer questions from reporters regarding allegations that a staff member had contact with Mark Schmidt, the doctor at the centre of the Aderlass doping inquiry, during the 2012 edition of the race.
In a statement on Thursday evening, Ineos Grenadiers indicated that they had sought further information from the International Testing Authority (ITA) on the matter.
Thomas is riding his 14th and final Tour de France before bringing the curtain down on his career at the Tour of Britain in September. He rode his first Tour as a 21-year-old in 2007, and he outlined how the rules of engagement in the peloton have changed since.
“There used to be bigger riders, senior riders in the peloton who kept a bit of order, Bit but now it feels like it’s a game of chicken into every corner, every roundabout,” he said. “I jokingly said the other day, even the Mafia have rules…”
The Welshman won the Tour in 2018 and placed on the podium in both 2019 and 2022. He confessed that losing the 2023 Giro d’Italia to Primoz Roglic on the final weekend was the biggest disappointment of his career.
“Obviously, there’s disappointments along the way, like the Giro in 2023, when I lost it on the last day, by 14 seconds to Roglic in the time trial.” Thomas said. “But if coming second in the Giro by 14 seconds is the biggest hurt and gripe in my life, that’s not a bad life, is it?”
