Netcompany Ineos sign 23-year-old former Tour de l'Avenir winner for 2027

Former Tour de l'Avenir winner Joe Blackmore, 23, has signed for Netcompany Ineos in 2027.

The young British racer joins Ineos after two years at NSN and Israel-Premier Tech, which followed a dramatically successful 2024 season that saw him win both the Tour de l’Avenir and the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

This year, however, Blackmore's racing has been severely disrupted by knee injuries, to the point where he took part in just three races and abandoned all of them. He did, however, complete the Tour de France in his first full season as a pro back in 2025, when he also claimed fourth in Brabantse Pijl in the same year.

Blackmore was one of three signings announced by Ineos Grenadiers on Wednesday, the other two being fellow Briton James Shaw and French climber Clément Champoussin.

“I’m extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to spend the next three years of my career with Netcompany Ineos," Blackmore said in a team press release.

"It’s been a tough 2026 for me with injuries, but it’s made me even more motivated to reach my full potential.

“Joe is a rider we’ve followed closely, and someone we believe has significant potential," Netcompany Ineos director of racing Geraint Thomas added.

"He has already shown what he is capable of across different types of racing, but importantly we believe there is still a lot more to come."

Shaw, 30, has yet to take a win in his career, but with seven Grand Tours in his palmares, the Briton has built a solid reputation as a strong climber. Shaw is also well known for setting his career back on track after two initial pro seasons at Lotto were followed by three away from the WorldTour in smaller squads.

At a point where others would have thrown in the towel, Shaw made it back to the top level and has now raced for the last five years at EF Education-EasyPost. “As a kid, this [Ineos] was the team that inspired me," Shaw said.

"I grew up looking up to riders like Geraint Thomas, so to now have the opportunity to pull on the jersey and become part of a team I've admired for so long is a dream come true."

Also set to provide a boost to Netcompany Ineos climbing line-up in 2027, like Shaw, is 28-year-old Clément Champoussin, moving on from XDS-Astana to race with the British WorldTour team next season.

A former top-ten finisher in Paris-Nice and Itzulia Basque Country, Champoussin has signed a three-year deal through to 2029 with Netcompany Ineos. They will be his fourth professional team following spells as AG2R-Decathlon, Arkéa-Samsic and, most recently, two years at Astana.

A pro since 2020, Champoussin's most memorable victory to date came in the Vuelta a España 2021 when he delivered a blistering late attack on the very hilly Ardennes Classics-style stage 20 to beat the previous all-conquering Primoz Roglič to the line.

However, his breakthrough win aged 22 was subsequently all but overshadowed by the hugely controversial mid-stage abandon the same day of Colombian Miguél Angel López.

This year a promising early start for Champoussin, including a fifth place overall at Itzulia Basque Country and top 20 placings in La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, was followed by a more uneven midseason. 2026 was the first time since 2022 that the Frenchman has not taken part in a single Grand Tour, where his best placing remains 16th overall in the Vuelta back in 2021.

“Clément brings significant experience and another dimension to the group," Thomas added about the Frenchman, originally from Nice, but now reportedly a resident in Andorra.

"He's a solid, strong and consistent climber who has shown he can perform at the highest level.

In a busy transfer season for Netcompany Ineos, the British squad is set to see multiple significant departures and arrivals this winter. Amongst those departing are Italian time trial giant Filippo Ganna, Americans AJ August and Magnus Sheffield, British allrounder Ben Swift, who is retiring, and Australian sprinter Sam Welsford.

Meanwhile, Champoussin, Shaw and Blackmore are three of the seven riders currently confirmed to be heading the opposite direction, with others joining Ineos including Champoussin's current XDS-Astana teammate, Harold Tejada, and the teenage Spanish star and double junior World Champion, Benjamin Noval.