Sir Dave Brailsford defended the new owners of his cycling team as Team Sky formally became Team Ineos on Wednesday. The new-look team will make their debut at this week’s Tour de Yorkshire, where environmental protesters are expected to line the route to voice their anger at Ineos’ record on fracking and plastics.
It seems a far cry from Sky’s Pass on Plastic and Ocean Rescue campaigns which have adorned riders’ jerseys for the past year, but Brailsford insisted the facts said otherwise.
Speaking alongside Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, Brailsford said: “I’m not an expert in chemicals, I’m an expert in trying to make Chris ride his bike faster. But when I did come to educate myself I realised there’s a very simplistic view and when you dive down into it and take the effort you can find out there’s a very different view. I’m very comfortable with the situation we’re in.”
Brailsford said that where Sky had promoted recycling campaigns, “if anybody can do anything about it, it’s these guys”.
Ratcliffe defended his company’s operations, saying Ineos have pioneered new methods of recycling plastic. On fracking, he said the majority of environmental groups he has met with are “ignorant” of the facts, and said it was a cheap source of energy. “I think it’s outrageous the government have listened to a noisy, minuscule minority instead of looking at the science,” he said.
That is unlikely to placate those who are expected to be heard at the roadside this week, and questions about fracking and plastics dominated the Team Ineos launch press conference, which was held far from the public gaze at a remote pub in North Yorkshire.
As Britain’s richest man, Ratcliffe has the deep pockets required to ensure the team remains the best funded in the sport – a budget which has helped them win six out of the last seven Tours de France.
“We’ve spent 30 years working on the Ineos project and made it very large and very profitable,” Ratcliffe said. “We make $US5-7bn a year in profit so there’s no harm in investing a modest amount of that into very worthy sporting endeavours which we enjoy.
“If they inspire people towards a healthier lifestyle, that’s a good thing but there’s also nothing wrong in investing money in something simply enjoyable. I like the theatre, I like opera. But I prefer sport.”
