Milan (AFP)

The strategy changes, the victory returns: transformed into an apostle of the flamboyant offensive, Dave Brailsford, the boss of the Sky team which became Ineos, now has eleven great laps to the credit of his group after the victory of Tao Geoghegan Hart in the Giro.

Is the mutation lasting?

The relentless steamroller who numbed the Tour de France six times throughout the 2010s (Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas) until the advent last year of Colombian climber Egan Bernal has transformed these last few weeks.

Each time after the abandonment of his leaders, Bernal in the last week of the Tour, Thomas on the third day of the Giro.

To hear Dave Brailsford, the group's philosophy is no longer the same.

"I came to the sport when I was young because I loved racing," the British team boss told Eurosport.

“In the last ten years we've gained a lot. But it wasn't as much fun as what we did there.”

The balance sheet?

Seven stage wins in the Giro, four for Filippo Ganna, two for Tao Geoghegan Hart, one for Jhonatan Narvaez, the pink jersey and the presence of all of his riders in breakaways (Castroviejo, Dennis, Puccio, Swift) .

"We are grenadiers now," Brailsford argued, referring to the new name, that of a big 4X4, of the team sponsored since the spring of 2019 by petrochemical giant, billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.

In other words, fighters turned towards the offensive, breaking with the previous "defensive" style, by Brailsford's own admission.

- The culture of victory for DNA -

The team creator hit the nail on the head to get the message across: "Sport is about emotion, the exhilarating moments of racing, and we want to be there."

The facts followed the speech but will the breakup continue beyond the beginning of autumn 2020?

The future will determine it even if the team has so far in its DNA the culture of victory through the famous marginal gains.

As further proof, the transfer of Geoghegan Hart by helicopter on the eve of the final time trial of the Giro to spare him the fatigue of the road transport made by his opponent (Jay Hindley).

For now, the observation is obvious.

Next year, the richest formation - and by far - of the peloton could line up four riders (Bernal, Carapaz, Geoghegan Hart, Thomas) already winners of a grand tour at the start of the Tour de France if it decided to multiply the leaders.

With, for support, the reinforcements of the Briton Adam Yates (4th in the 2016 Tour) and the Australian Richie Porte (3rd in the 2020 Tour), who joined the group.

The emergence of Geoghegan Hart, greeted with emotion by Brailsford, reinforces the British identity of the group which had opted for young South American talents for three years (Bernal, Martinez, Narvaez, Rivera, Sosa).

Without even waiting for the next arrival of the English nugget Thomas Pidcock, 21 years old and winner at the beginning of September of the Baby Giro, the Giro d'Italia hopes.

"Like so many British cyclists of my generation, I have always aspired to race on the road with this team," Pidcock said upon joining.

"She's the best in the world."

© 2020 AFP