Ineos Grenadiers are reportedly close to agreeing a multimillion-pound sponsorship deal with TotalEnergies that could help the team return to the Tour de France success of the past and perhaps even include Remco Evenepoel as a future team leader.
According to the usually well-informed Matt Lawton in The Times, the French multi-national energy and oil company could become a title sponsor of the Ineos team and so boost their budget significantly. Escape Collective's Chris Marshall Bell first reported in March that TotalEnergies could come on board as a sponsor.
The Times now claim that "a merger is nearing completion."
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TotalEnergies will hold their next Shareholders' Meeting on Friday, May 23, a date that could be significant for any eventual deal.
Other sources played down the possibility of a deal with TotalEnergies, who may be keen to take control of the team and register it in France. Ineos Grenadiers did not initially comment when contacted by Cyclingnews. On Saturday, Josh Tarling won the stage 2 time trial at the Giro d'Italia to give Ineos Grenadiers their 11th victory of the 2025 season.
There have been suggestions in recent weeks that Ineos Grenadiers could rebrand on July 1, in time for this year's Tour de France, perhaps moving away from promoting the troubled Grenadier SUV vehicle, with the cost of sponsorship moved to other budgets within the Ineos company.
However, any joint sponsorship could be complicated. TotalEnergies already sponsors the French ProTeam owned by Jean-René Bernaudeau, and so a merger is more likely to happen for 2026 when new WorldTour licences are also awarded.
Ineos and TotalEnergies have worked together in the past, and last year Ineos bought the French company’s petrochemical assets in southern France after a joint venture.
Remco Evenepoel has again been linked to Ineos Grenadiers, perhaps indicating the team's intentions to step up their Tour de France ambitions thanks to new sponsorship from TotalEnergies. The Belgian's contract with Soudal-QuickStep, which ends after the 2026 season, has not been officially extended, making it easier for any buyout. Ineos is investing £2.5 billion in a new chemicals plant near Antwerp and employs 3150 staff across 12 R&D and production sites.
Het Laatste Nieuws journalist Bram Vandecapelle recently suggested that Ineos could switch to using Specialized bikes in the future as a part of a deal to secure Evenepoel.
Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe, who also owns the Manchester United football team, is reportedly trying to cut Ineos' significant spending, even across its sports portfolio, blaming the “deindustrialisation of Europe” and the impact it has had on the petrochemicals business. Ineos' debt pile is forecast to reach almost €12bn (£10bn) this year, with credit agencies downgrading their outlook for the company to 'negative.'
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné has always seen the benefits of sponsoring a cycling team. However, a major investment would need approval of the TotalEnergies board rather than simple marketing approval for the far smaller ProTeam spend.
Ineos Grenadiers confirmed in January that the team will exist beyond the 2025 season but a sports marketing agency had been hired to find a major sponsor that could contribute around £20 million in funding to ensure the team has a budget that can compete with UAE Team Emirates, Lild-Trek, and other super teams.
"It's fair to say that Ineos don't want to spend more money," team manager John Allert admitted.
"They very clearly do want us to be a super team and they know what it takes to be a super team. I'm not going to put a number on that, but it's a number that's greater than what we're currently spending.
"You don't need to be that clued-up to realize there's a reason why we're trying to bring other people on that journey with us. There's value to be created for other brands and we don't necessarily feel we have to, need to, or want to, go it alone."
