From its incarnation as Team Sky in 2010, the team swiftly rose in the sport's ranks, winning seven Tours de France in eight years. But after billionaire Jim Ratcliffe purchased the team and rebranded it as the Ineos Grenadiers, its position atop the sport has eroded – slowly at first but with increasing speed. In just a few years, cycling's once-dominant stage racing team has transformed from an innovative powerhouse into a rudderless corporation, haemorrhaging talent and results despite its massive budget.

To dissect this empire’s collapse, Escape Collective spoke with more than a dozen sources in and around Ineos – former riders and staff, agents, and other well-connected people in pro cycling – to learn what took the team from winning seven Tours de France in eight years to struggling to hold onto talent both on and off the bike.

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