Ineos sign Tom Pidcock as first of raft of new signings to begin Sir Dave Brailsford's rebuilding job

Tom Pidcock, arguably the most exciting young prospect in British cycling, will join Ineos Grenadiers next season as part of a raft of new signings, as Sir Dave Brailsford looks to “build again” after a difficult Tour de France.

Jumbo-Visma established themselves as the dominant force in the pro peloton at this year’s Tour. Although Primoz Roglic ultimately lost out to Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates in the yellow jersey category, the Slovenian wore the leader’s jersey for 11 stages and looked impregnable during that time as he was shepherded around France by a crack squad of riders which included Wout van Aert, Tom Dumoulin, Tony Martin and rising American star Sepp Kuss.

Brailsford said he was “energised” by the gauntlet thrown down by the Dutch team, adding his own team were going through something of a “transition” at the moment.

“I think when you look at the ‘life cycle’ of our team, there’s an older, very successful group over on one side, and then a younger, up-and-coming group,” Brailsford said. “Jumbo are right smack in the middle of that maturity curve, whereas we’re immature or overly mature. So it’s like a transition really. But we’re bringing in some experience and some new young talent and we’re building again.”

One of those talents, The Telegraph understands, is Pidcock, who may be announced as soon as Monday. The 21-year-old, a junior and U23 world champion in cyclocross, won the U23 or ‘Baby’ Giro d’Italia earlier this month, and despite his tender age will lead Britain’s elite men’s team at this week’s UCI Road World Championships in Imola.

Brailsford is also trying to tie up a deal for Dani Martínez [EF Pro Cycling], the recent Criterium du Dauphiné champion, while Richie Porte [Trek-Segafredo] and Adam Yates [Mitchelton-Scott], who finished third and ninth respectively at this Tour, are inbound. Connor Swift [Arkea Samsic] could also be an option, the Telegraph understands.

Ineos have the largest budget in pro cycling at an estimated £40 million per year, although much of that is taken up by the salaries of their star riders. Chris Froome’s departure to Israel Start-Up Nation next season has freed up about £5m per year.

Brailsford says he wants to retain a strong “British core” to his team, with 22 year-old Ethan Hayter, who is aiming for Olympic gold on the track next summer, another exciting prospect. Hayter sprinted to his first pro win at Giro dell'Appenino on Saturday.

Brailsford admitted Ineos had had a difficult Tour, with leader Egan Bernal abandoning in the final week, but defended his selections. He said the team would review everything - coaching, preparation, the sports director group - over the winter. “It was Gabba’s [Gabriel Rasch] first time as lead DS. And I think it’s inevitable, after all that time with Nico [Portal, who died earlier this year], some things are going to work and some aren’t. We just have to take that on the chin.”

Asked about rumours that riders such as Bernal and Geraint Thomas may have overtrained in lockdown, Brailsford replied: “I don’t know, we’ll sit down and look at how we managed that whole lockdown period. Clearly, I think we finished the [Tour] well. But that first French block [of racing after lockdown] was maybe harder than we expected. I think there’s quite a few lessons to learn there.”

Brailsford said head coach Tim Kerrison and Xabi Artetxe, who looks after the Spanish-speaking contingent, were as enthused as he was about the rebuild, although there would be changes with the team “kind of moving more to an Andorra base than a Monaco base”.

“You have to evolve,” Brailsford added. “What has it been now? 10-11 years? You need fresh blood, you need new ideas. Without doubt we’ll bring some people in and regenerate. [But] I think sometimes people have very short memories.  We’ve won [the Tour] seven of the last eight years. It’s amazing how many experts have come out of the woodwork the last three or four days. I’ve got no issue with that. I get a lot of credit when things go well and I get a lot of questions when things don’t. That’s part and parcel. It goes with the territory.”

Ultimately, Brailsford said he was excited by the prospect of trying to take on Jumbo-Visma. “I love performance, it’s my thing,” he said. “In any sport when you see a group of guys come together, put a plan together, and then over several years work towards it to the point where you can nail it ... I know we’re in competition but when you take a step back, it’s pretty inspiring. It just raises the bar for us again, which is what sport is about.”