After a recent run of summer success, Ethan Hayter has been handed the chance to lead Ineos Grenadiers at the upcoming Tour of Britain, alongside former World Champion Michał Kwiatkowski.
The British team are taking a star-studded squad to their home race, with Richie Porte and Rohan Dennis both in the six-man team, which is rounded out by Welshman Owain Doull and young Spaniard Carlos Rodríguez.
Hayter has enjoyed a strong second season as a professional, winning two stages at the Ruta del Sol and one at the Volta ao Algarve in May.
He then went to Tokyo for the Olympic Games and came away with a silver medal from the Madison, before dominating the Tour of Norway with two stage wins and the overall title.
After leading home the chase group for fourth at Bretagne Classic on Sunday, Hayter was named as Ineos leader for the Tour of Britain, which starts on Sunday.
Hayter will share responsibilities with Kwiatkowski, who won a stage and finished second overall in 2014. The route lacks a long summit finish but instead features three shorter hill-top finishes that should suit both riders' punchy characteristics.
The race will be heavily shaped by the team time trial in Carmarthenshire on stage 3, and the presence of Dennis in the quad will strengthen Ineos' hand. The Australian is a two-time former time trial world champion and makes his comeback after winning the bronze medal at the Olympics.
Porte similarly makes his return to racing after Tokyo, and after enduring a rough Tour de France, while Rodríguez recently underlined his potential by finishing runner-up in the recent Tour de l'Avenir, the prestigious race for U23 riders.
Hayter, Kwiatkowski, and Ineos Grenadiers will be up against a strong field that includes Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), and Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), who will be honing their form for the World Championships in Belgium later in September.
The 2021 Tour of Britain gets underway down in Cornwall on Sunday and finishes in Aberdeen, Scotland, the following Sunday.
