Robbie Mixon believes Ineos Grenadiers have a “fresh mindset” this season, which is already helping them get good results.
After their worst season ever, the team has started 2025 strongly, winning four races early in the year.
Michał Kwiatkowski gave Ineos their first win in 226 days at the Clásica Jaén last week. Josh Tarling then won the time trial at the UAE Tour, their first WorldTour win in 254 days. Before these victories, Egan Bernal won both the time trial and road race at the Colombian national championships.
Filippo Ganna seemed to have won stage one of the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal. But the stage was later canceled for unusual reasons.
On Thursday, TNT Sports expert McEwen said he believed Ineos would keep up their good form. He thinks the team’s senior members have helped them start well.
“I think the riders themselves made the change,” McEwen said. “Of course, they are the ones pedaling, but it looks like they have taken more control of their roles. Before, everything was very structured—they followed strict plans and instructions.
“Now, they just go out and race without overthinking or waiting for instructions. Before, too much planning slowed them down. Now, they race with passion, enjoy it, and give their best instead of just following a strict process under pressure.”
He said, “I think the experienced riders, like [Michal] Kwiatkowski and Geraint Thomas, are leading the team with this new mindset. It feels fresh, and I believe it’s pushing the team forward. I really like what I see.”
Ineos has signed Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan from Jayco AIUla. This move suggests the team may focus more on sprint stages in Grand Tours. Until now, Ineos has mainly focused on overall race victories in big events.
Ewan has not won a WorldTour race since 2022, but McEwen believes he is now in the right team.
McEwen said: “The key is for Caleb to feel confident and welcomed. The team supports having a sprinter who can win flat stages. They have strong riders to help him. He just needs one or two teammates he connects with. If they win together, his confidence will grow. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the first few races.
“It might be tough at first since he hasn’t raced much lately, but I think he’ll need a couple of months to find his best form and start winning. It would be great to see an Ineos rider competing in bunch sprints again.”