Ineos Grenadiers ditch controversial light grey shorts for European spring, return to black

The shorts became the kit’s headline in December. Call them white or call them light grey, the point was the same: they were bright, unusual for a WorldTour team, and hard to imagine surviving a northern European race day without looking battered. 

The concern from fans was simple enough. February and March do not offer many clean road finishes, and the classics season has a habit of turning clothing into evidence.

Through the opening races, Ineos offered mixed signals. In Australia, both versions appeared across the programme, with riders sometimes starting in black and appearing later in the lighter shorts. That only fuelled the assumption that the team was still deciding what worked, or that the choice might vary race by race.

Europe has brought a clearer line. At the Volta Comunitat Valenciana, Ineos began its first stage on the continent in black, a look that many would recognise as the sensible default for this part of the calendar.

Cycling Weekly asked the team directly what the plan is. A spokesperson said: “It’ll change as determined by our performance team. For the European spring we’ll be in black, otherwise we’ll be in grey.” 

Ineos has not put a date on when the lighter option will return, saying the decision will be made by its performance staff based on conditions. The team has not disclosed what performance difference, if any, exists between the two versions of the shorts.

It should be noted, however, that teams cannot alternate shorts colours from stage to stage within a stage race, so the decision has to be made in advance.