LONDON—Britain’s richest man has bought the Team Sky cycling team, which will be renamed Team Ineos.
Jim Ratcliffe, who is the chairman of chemicals giant Ineos, is reported by the Sunday Times rich list as being worth $21 billion (€18.5 million).
Ineos pledged in a statement on Tuesday to honor all “existing commitments to riders, staff and partners.”
The team’s launch takes place at the Tour de Yorkshire which starts in Doncaster on May 2.
Sky’s longtime team principal Dave Brailsford welcomed the move, saying “it ends the uncertainty around the team” and “represents a huge vote of confidence in our future.”
Sky has won six of the past seven Tour de France races, with Chris Froome winning four times and Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas winning it once.
British broadcaster Sky announced its withdrawal from the sport last December following the European pay TV giant’s takeover by American company Comcast.
Primoz Roglic of Slovenia, meanwhile, won the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race by one second when he beat British rider Adam Yates in the final-stage time trial on Tuesday in San Benedetto del Tronto in Italy.
Victor Campenaerts won the 10-kilometer individual time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto.
Roglic, who rides for Team Jumbo-Visma, started the time trial in second place in the overall standings, 25 seconds behind Yates.
“It was unbelievably close. I was lucky in the end,” Roglic said. “I felt strong…I tried to make a difference and really go for it and I really pushed until the finish line.
“I was confident but I can only control myself.”
Yates had been in the lead of the race since the second of the seven stages, while his Mitchelton-Scott team had won the opening-day team time trial.
“It was close, but it wasn’t enough, that’s how it goes, that’s bike racing,” Yates said. “I did the best I could, I said yesterday that 25 seconds isn’t really enough. But I did a good TT, I’ll have to look back but I think the power was good and I held my position for as long as I could.
“There wasn’t much more I could do, the strongest man won, but for sure next year I’ll be back and hopefully I can come back stronger.”
Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark finished third overall, 30 seconds behind Roglic and nearly a minute ahead of Tom Dumoulin.
Campenaerts won the final stage in 11-plus minutes. Alberto Bettiol was three seconds behind the Belgian. Jos van Emden of the Netherlands was four seconds back.