Netcompany Ineos end long-term partnership with Continental to switch to Pirelli tyres for 2027
Netcompany Ineos will race on Pirelli tyres from 2027 onwards, bringing an end to a a long-term partnership with Continental.
Launching as Sky Procycling in 2010, the British team used a range of tyres from manufacturers like Veloflex, FMB, and Vittoria in their early years, but have consistently used Continental for more than a decade now.
However, a new three-year agreement with Pirelli was. announced on Thursday.
“Pirelli bring a huge amount of technical expertise and a real commitment to innovation, so it’s exciting to have them working closely with our riders and performance team,” said the team’s Director of Racing, Geraint Thomas.
“It’s not just about the equipment we race on, but how we can work together to keep developing, so we’re really looking forward to building that relationship and seeing what we can achieve together.”
Netcompany Ineos will make their racing debut on Pirelli rubber at the Santos Tour Down Under in January.
‘Marginal gains’ is still a phrase that’s closely linked to Netcompany Ineos, and there is some mention of that philosophy in the Pirelli press release.
Pirelli says the partnership will focus on developing ‘technical solutions’ to the demands of WorldTour cycling. There’s also a mention of ‘technical assessment’ being a key step in the development of the partnership.
In simple language, this could point to the team testing the Pirelli tyres against the Continental GP 5000 S TR and TT TR tyres they have been racing on until now.
Pirelli already supplies two WorldTour teams: Lidl-Trek and Alpecin-Premier Tech.
It sounds like Netcompany Ineos will primarily use the Pirelli P Zero Race SL-R tyre as well as the P Zero Race RS model.
The team also switched wheels at the start of this year, moving from Shimano Dura-Ace wheels to Scope models. Perhaps the Scope wheels and Pirelli tyre combination has proven to be faster.
We tested road tyres in our CN Labs tyre test in 2024, testing both Continental and Pirelli models, but that test didn’t include the then unreleased P Zero Race SL-R.
Pirelli launched its flagship P Zero Race SL-R tyre in March this year. The tyres use PAAS (Pirelli Advanced Aerodynamic System technology), which adds material to the sidewalls of the slick tyre to improve aerodynamic performance when mounted to a rim. Pirelli claimed rolling resistance and aero performance had improved considerably compared to its P Zero RACE RS model.
Geraint Thomas recently discussed the team’s mixed 2026 season, saying, ‘purely from results, I’d say it definitely wasn’t good’. Can this equipment switch be a marginal gain that helps them turn things around in 2027?
The road season might be at an end, but Cyclingnews isn’t slowing down. Subscribe for unlimited access to our comprehensive news coverage, industry-leading CN Labs testing, expert columnists, and so much more. Plus, the Cyclingnews app means you can stay up-to-date wherever you go! Join today.