On the plus side, the budget is likely to remain high, possibly even higher, so the investment in the sport is retained, plus he has form with his support of Ben Ainslie's sailing team. It's also likely that Brailsford will retain a fair degree of autonomy over how the team work.
On the negative side, he's a bit of a tax dodging turd and he runs a chemical company. Still, I suppose when you look around the peleton, it's not exactly renowned for having white than white sponsors.
Didnt he sink something like £110 million into Ben Ainslee's Americas Cup bid?
Ok the article never explicitly spells it out in black and white terms but you would have to assume that, considering he has in the past invested £110 million in Ben Ainslee's Americas Cup sailing bid. He likes putting money into his interests and sailing and cycling are two of them.
Ineos will buy out Tour Racing Limited, the holding company owned by BSkyB which holds the team’s licence and so remain in the World Tour. Team Sky will then be renamed Team Ineos from 2020 – with permission from the Professional Cycling Council.
Wiggins described the takeover as a “bonus for everyone at Team Sky”. Speaking on his podcast on Eurosport, Wiggins said: “He [Ratcliffe] is the richest man in Britain and you’d imagine that the kind of money that they’ve asked for is nothing to him – probably get it written off his tax bill.
“I’m aware of this guy but I’ve never met him. He’s got a house in Majorca and he’s really into cycling, rides his bike, so I would imagine this is someone who loves cycling and said, ‘I’m going to put my money in’. Much like Gerry Ryan [at Mitchelton-Scott] and a few of the other Australian millionaires who put their money in.
“So, it’s an ideal situation for Dave [Brailsford] because he can continue running out this team with all his plans and philosophies and he’s answerable, you’d imagine, to one man who puts in the money, and it’ll certainly help that team.”
Wiggins added: “I think that would have impacted on the sponsor they have [gone with] as well. Dave will want to retain control and it’s Dave’s way in terms of the way he manages the team, the way he’s set the team up and I think he would have been reluctant to have another multinational company that came in and wanted it for the advertisement, but would want the control in terms of, ‘This is how we’re going to do it in terms of how we advertise our company’. I think that would have been a big point for Dave which in some ways is an ideal situation.”
Wiggins added that tying up a deal this early in the season was a bonus for everyone at Team Sky, with riders not now facing any contractual uncertainty heading into the summer.
