A curious day out at the Netcompany Ineos launch

It's a plotline that could have been stolen from the final series of Succession.

The ageing billionaire, studying his options and increasingly frustrated by lack of progress, steps back, loosens his grip on power and allows the Danish techbros to climb out of their beanbags and take a controlling interest in his pet project.

Maybe that's a little unfair, but at the launch of the new super-team, Netcompany Ineos cycling team, in central London on Tuesday morning, techbros were actually dancing (albeit briefly).

Jim Ratcliffe, who remains the team owner, wasn't there to witness that. Instead the long-awaited rebrand was fronted by Dave Brailsford, helpfully — after some uncertainty due to his absence from the team's website — confirmed as 'Team Principal Netcompany Ineos cycling team and Director of Sport, Ineos.' The five-year deal between the two brands was described as a "firm commitment to the future of cycling" that would "unlock tech and human performance."

The €100 million stake, enough to claim equal billing with Ineos in the new team, was hailed as a breakthrough in sports data innovation. For both Ineos and Netcompany, it's a win-win: the team needs more money to punch its weight and Netcompany want to boost their profile, across Europe and particularly in the UK.

Keen readers will know that Brailsford's public appearances have become few and far between, particularly since the ITA launched their investigation into the team's long-standing head carer, David Rozman, last summer.

In contrast with his incognito behaviour at last summer's Tour de France, on Tuesday, he was ready and primed to take centre stage and enthuse about the powers of AI, which — wait for it — will reduce "margins of error."

"The next frontier is understanding individual response," Brailsford said. "If you can achieve that through AI, you will get better consistency. That’s where I see the big opportunity coming."

Key to the appeal of the deal to Brailsford is longevity, after a turbulent period of change in which Ineos Grenadiers failed to match the achievements of the past, most of which came during their prior incarnation as Team Sky.

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