{"id":805942,"date":"2026-03-05T15:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/805942\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T15:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:41:14","slug":"ineos-grenadiers-spring-strade-bianche-surprise-as-egan-bernal-left-out-despite-prior-backing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/805942\/","title":{"rendered":"INEOS Grenadiers spring Strade Bianche surprise as Egan Bernal left out despite prior backing"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\u201cFor Strade Bianche<\/a>, we naturally have Egan Bernal<\/a>,\u201d Basso said in conversation with Bici.Pro<\/a>. \u201cHe already finished on the podium in 2021 and knows how to race it. We rely on his talent. He will be our reference point on Saturday.\u201dOfficial lineup tells a different story<\/p>\n

The squad now confirmed by INEOS paints a very different tactical picture.<\/p>\n

Rather than building around a single protected leader, the team will start Strade Bianche with:<\/p>\n\nINEOS Grenadiers \u2013 Strade Bianche 2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nJack Haig<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nLucas Hamilton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nKim Heiduk<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nAxel Laurance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nBrandon Rivera<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nArtem Shmidt<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nConnor Swift<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

The absence of Bernal suggests a shift away from the leadership structure that had been outlined publicly, towards a more flexible approach built on depth and opportunism.<\/p>\n

A change of plans and a new tactical look<\/p>\n

Bernal\u2019s omission is particularly notable given his previous success in the race. The Colombian finished third in the 2021 edition, proving he can handle the unique demands of Tuscany\u2019s sterrato sectors and the explosive finish into Siena.<\/p>\n

Instead, INEOS will arrive with a group offering a broader mix of options.<\/p>\n

Haig and Hamilton add climbing strength for the race\u2019s decisive hills. Swift and Rivera bring experience on rough terrain and the ability to race aggressively when the gravel sectors start to split the peloton. Laurance adds punch if the finale is contested by a reduced group, while Heiduk and Shmidt provide further support in what is often an attritional, chaotic race where positioning and resilience matter as much as outright power.<\/p>\n

Focus likely shifts toward the Italian stage races<\/p>\n

Bernal\u2019s absence from Strade Bianche may also reflect the team\u2019s priorities for the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

In the same interview, Basso described an Italian block that continues immediately after Strade, with Bernal expected to remain in the country for Tirreno-Adriatico, where he and Thymen Arensman are set to lead the team\u2019s general classification ambitions.<\/p>\n

That stage race could offer clearer signals about how INEOS intend to approach the Giro d\u2019Italia later this season. For now, though, the immediate story is the contradiction between what was said and what has been selected.<\/p>\n

INEOS have backed Bernal publicly as their focal point for Strade Bianche. Their official lineup now tells a different story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cFor Strade Bianche, we naturally have Egan Bernal,\u201d Basso said in conversation with Bici.Pro. \u201cHe already finished…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":743802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,181975,42457,79,189602,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-805942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-egan-bernal","10":"tag-ineos-grenadiers","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-strade-bianche","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116177330847225105","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/743802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}