Ineos Grenadiers have today revealed their 2024 kit design, announcing with it a sponsor switch away from Bioracer in favour of the small Spanish brand Gobik, and confirming the validity of speculation that was sparked after Egan Bernal accidentally leaked photos of what appeared to be a new kit on his Instagram account last week.
Described merely as a "long-term partnership", there is no set duration to the partnership agreement, and it will see Gobik supply the British outfit with all on-bike racing apparel.
Despite the sponsor switch, the Ineos Grenadiers DNA remains largely unchanged. The jersey bears a strong resemblance to designs seen in recent years, with the orange tones from the 2023 kit paired with a horizontal fade-to-black design not dissimilar to the vertical fade used in 2020.
It marks the third kit supplier in four years for the team, who also saw a big management shakeup recently after they switched from Castelli to the Belgian brand Bioracer in 2021. Again, there was no set end date to that partnership, and the two sides looked set for a long-term partnership, working together closely on specific items including both Dan Bigham and Filippo Ganna's Hour Record kit. But the two sides parted ways after just two years, and it appears the decision came from Bioracer, rather than the team.
It comes amid a "scaling down" of sponsorship commitments from Bioracer after a challenging few years.
"As the post-covid situation has challenged not just us but our whole industry, we took hard decisions to strengthen our business," read a statement from the brand. "That meant a revision of our operational costs, capacity and with that scaling down our sponsorship engagements as well."
The statement continued to explain that the decision was taken "in close collaboration" with the team, and the parting of ways was described as "amicable." Despite this, Cyclingnews understands that Bioracer will continue to work with Team Uno X.
Gobik, meanwhile, has seen its fair share of movement in the past few years too. The brand was founded in 2010 and has already worked with three different WorldTour teams since.
In 2023, the brand sponsored Movistar, taking over from Alé. Before that, it worked closely with UAE Team Emirates for two years, claiming a Tour de France win with Tadej Pogačar in its first season in the men's WorldTour. It concurrently worked with Women's WorldTeam FDJ Suez in 2022 and 2023.
Naturally, the brand's co-founders both have positive outlooks on the upcoming partnership, with Alberto Garcia describing being part of the Ineos Grenadiers "structure" as "a great opportunity," believing that the collaboration will "mean an important advancement in our products that of course will ultimately reach the end consumer."
His opposite, Jose Ramón appears to see more of an opportunity in marketing than in technological advancement, stating that "a team with as much history as the Ineos Grenadiers is a perfect partner for us that allows us to amplify our brand's message."
Of course, the team's new CEO following the aforementioned management shakeup, John Allert also had positive things to say, speaking of an immediate "connection" with the brand. Here's what he had to say in full:
“From when we first met with Gobik in Murcia we felt there was a connection, I could tell they were ready to take on the challenge. The Ineos Grenadiers' ethos is founded upon continual improvement and pushing boundaries, disrupting the norm; to keep doing that requires partners who are willing to be aligned to that ethos and be a part of the journey, Gobik has shown us that’s the way it operates too. The quality of the race kit has such a dramatic impact on rider performance, therefore choosing a kit partner is not something we take lightly, I’m looking forward to seeing where this collaboration takes us and them in 2024.”
Amid the release, the brand also reaffirmed the continued use of some other equipment.
The team's existing partnership with Pinarello bikes has one more year to run, and the Italian brand's logo features on the left chest. Riders will be aboard the same Dogma F model they raced in 2023.
Unlike Bora-Hansgrohe, who will switch to SRAM in 2024, Ineos Grenadiers will continue to use Shimano for groupsets and wheels. They will also continue to use Kask helmets.
An exciting long-term partnership 🤝A stunning new kit! 🔥Gobik X @INEOSGrenadiersThe Unconventional Way ➡️ January 1 pic.twitter.com/XFCYVMHjJwDecember 13, 2023
