Ineos Grenadiers could run new young rider development programme through German Continental team

Ineos Grenadiers
Ineos Grenadiers (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ineos Grenadiers look set to run their new development programme in 2025 with the German Continental team Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank. 

The WorldTour team was described as 'Devo Partner' for the 2025 Tour of Rhodes held in Greece in early March. 

"There will be a press release next week, otherwise you would have to contact Ineos if you want to know anything beforehand," team owner Florian Monreal told Cyclingnews.

"Our owners are hell-bent on developing our own talent. We're not going to buy the top guys in, we’re going to develop our own," Drawer told Cyclingnews when he spent several days at the Tour de France. "That's more exciting for coaches. That's more exciting for riders.

"If we're going to win Grand Tours again, our investment and work has to be on young talent."

Current WorldTour pros Kim Heiduk (Ineos Grenadiers), Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty) and Max Walscheid (Jayco AlUla) have come through the long-standing German development team. 

Ineos Grenadiers have remained an anomaly among top WorldTour teams in recent years by not having a development team or pathway from the junior ranks to WorldTour level. Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE Team Emirates and Soudal-QuickStep all having a team for their best U23 riders to progress before jumping to the top level. 

Ineos Grenadiers are finally building a route to the WorldTour for their younger prospects to stem the loss of talented riders to their rivals super teams. 

"The traditional pathways of becoming a WorldTour cyclist have changed. It all starts at a younger age. We're thinking deeply about how to get that right," said Drawer. 

"Rider development will be a big part of the team in the future."

Posted by rhodescycling on 
James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.