Reigning under-23 US national time trial champion Artem Shmidt signed a two-year contract with Ineos Grenadiers, putting the 20-year-old on the WorldTour team through 2026.
This is the first professional contract for the Georgia native, who will join the development squad at the end of August after competing with Team USA at the Tour de l’Avenir, taking place August 18-24.
“I’m very grateful to be joining Ineos Grenadiers for the rest of this season and the next two years. It was a goal from day one to ride for this team so making it a reality is really a dream come true,” Shmidt told Cyclingnews.
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“I can’t wait to learn from the riders and staff to improve my game, but more importantly to help the team in any way I can. Super excited to see what the next couple years bring!”
Shmidt showed off his big engine as a 12-year-old when he swept junior national titles in the time trial, road race and criterium. Riding for development teams Mission Source/NGCA and Hot Tubes Development, Shmidt climbed the ladder to Pro 1-2 events, and in 2022 he earned two silvers and a bronze at road nationals in the men’s junior 17-18 division. He also gained experience in Belgium with stints on Cannibal Team, where he earned two GCs in Europe as a junior.
His final races as a junior came in 2022 at the UCI Road World Championships in Scotland, where he rode a majority of the junior road race in the breakaway and finished fifth. In the men’s junior time trial he was sixth, making him the top US finisher in both events. The last two seasons Shmidt has raced for one of the top development teams in the US, Hagens Berman Jayco.
“I cannot thank Hagens Berman Jayco and Axel Merckx enough for a great last 1.5 seasons. I’ve developed so much as a rider but also as a person and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. Also, the same goes to Hot Tubes and Toby [Stanton], Cannibal Team and Mission Source,” he added.
While at Hagens Berman Jayco, he won a stage at Istarsko Proljeće and had a podium in the one-day Coppa della Pace last year, and in 2024 he demonstrated his all-around abilities with top mountains classification placings, taking second at Alpes Isère Tour and fourth at Circuit des Ardennes.
“Artem is not totally new to the team as he’s attended a number of our training camps where he’s impressed us both with his approach and his ability on the bike. He’s an exciting young talent with a wide range of skills across time trialing, climbing and rolling terrain,” said Scott Drawer, performance director for Ineos Grenadiers in a team statement.
“He comes from a background and environment that’s familiar to us, and one which we know has a proven track record of providing excellent grounding for pro bike riders.”
Hot Tubes Cycling Club also produced Ineos rising stars Andrew ‘AJ’ August and Magnus Sheffield, both from upstate New York. Sheffield, who represented the US in road events at the Olympic Games this year, signed with Ineos in 2022 while August joined this year. Both August and Shmidt are past winners of the prestigious SPIE Internationale three-day junior race in the Netherlands.
“Obviously AJ and I have been very good friends for a while now so I am very excited to be teammates with him again. Also very stoked to learn as much as I can from Magnus. I’m certain he can help me improve and boost my development.”
