‘We're not going to buy the top guys in, we’re going to develop our own’ Scott Drawer tells Cyclingnews in an exclusive interview
Ineos Grenadiers at the 2024 Tour de France(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ineos Grenadiers will invest in a development programme for 2025 to help discover and develop their next Grand Tour leaders as part of strategic changes in the team’s culture, racing style and roster.
In what could be described as the post-Geraint Thomas, post-Rod Ellingworth era, Ineos will try to develop talent in-house, via their development programme. They will try to attract the best riders, especially British talents, while also signing the best staff and working with external advisors to help them close the gap on their super team rivals UAE Team Emirates, Visma-Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek.
Performance Director Scott Drawer revealed to Cyclingnews that he has carried a detailed review of the way Ineos Grenadiers works since returning to the team in December, with the goal of winning again at Grand Tours, even if that takes several years.
“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. 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,” Drawer told Cyclingnews as he spent several days at the Tour de France.
Ineos have already defined their 2025 roster and Drawer is working on 2026 and beyond as part of a long-term project of development and improvement. 18-year-old Dane Peter Øxenberg is the first of several new young signings to Ineos for 2025.
“We're not thinking about next year, we're thinking about what are the demands of the sport in 2030. If you think about next year, everyone else will be ahead of us. So we're certainly trying to be a bit more creative and rebuild,” he explained.
A development team is part of that project as Ineos look to sign and develop the best young riders aged between 16 to 23 and create a pathway up to the WorldTour team. Ineos has still to decide if they will create a Continental team that will allow riders to race with the WorldTour squad or work with satellite teams.
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Drawer confirmed that there are currently no defined plans to create a women’s team, with the men’s development programme and rejuvenation of the WorldTour their key focus.
“We already have a small development programme called ‘Ascent’ and we’re going to scale that up,” Drawer explained.
“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. Rider development will be a big part of the team in the future. We want the best young British talent, and any young talent, to look at what we're doing and then want to develop with us.”
Pidcock and Cummings have key roles in the long-term future and success future of Ineos Grenadiers
Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) (Image credit: Getty Images)
Drawer insisted that Tom Pidcock and Head of Racing Steve Cummings will play a key role in the next era of Ineos Grenadiers, despite the Netflix Tour de France documentary highlighting tension between the two and Cummings being left at home from this year's race.
Tom Pidcock is seen as a key part of the team’s Grand Tour group, alongside Carlos Rodríguez and Egan Bernal.
“Tom Pidcock is contracted with us until the end of 27 so none of that's going to change. He's a generational talent,” Drawer said.
“A long-term aspiration for Tom will be fighting for the GC and I think he wants that as well. We look forward to supporting him on that mission. He's definitely got a key role in the team in the long-term future.”
The long-term young rider development strategy might mean Ineos Grenadiers fail to win the Tour de France for two or three years but they are ready to accept that as they rebuild.
“That’s the balance you have but just look at Carlos Rodríguez at this Tour. He is better than he was last year and he's going to get stronger in this race,” Drawer said with optimism about even the near-term future and what the young Spaniard can achieve at this year’s Tour de France.
“Egan is still on the way up too. He's already hitting the numbers he was in 2019. We haven't seen the end of Egan in his fight to get back to his very best and that’s exciting to see.
“We know how challenging it is with Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. But with Tom, Egan and Carlos, we've got these guys out of there already, and now it's about bringing on those behind to put some upward pressure. Peter Øxenberg is the first of those and there will be others.”
Drawer confirmed that Steve Cummings has a senior management role in the team despite being left at home from this year’s Tour de France.
“Absolutely,” Drawer made clear.
“Steve's role is Director of Racing and so is much more significant than just being on a race. Zak Dempster is 'lead DS’ for this Tour but Steve and I are working on a number of strategic projects already for rider recruitment for 2026.
He's Director of Racing because of his depth of expertise and wisdom around bike racing. That's something I don't have. He’s a key part of the senior team, alongside Head Coach Xabier Artetxe, who coaches Carlos Rodriguez, Egan Bernal and other staff. Steve has continued to provide a lot of his expertise to those projects, which is about for the future. It's not just about the here and now.”
Drawer is working on changing the culture and mindset of the Ineos team at every level.
“I think we've been caught between what we once were and where we want to try to get to,” he explained.
“The fundamentals here are about having brilliant rider talent who are really hungry to succeed, the best coaches around them, and then we can wrap in the other support.
“We’ve spent a lot of time doing a fundamental review on our identity. We've invited in lots of external experts that don't know our sport to help us improve. I think we're being pretty honest about the stuff we can do better. And I think that's a natural part of the process of setting us up for excellence in the future.
“We want to feel like the guys can take risks, and we want them to take risks,” he said.
“You're not always going to achieve the biggest results but we'll celebrate trying and the process rather than not taking the risks. We're going to create those opportunities more and more, where everyone can hopefully go and win big races.
“Hopefully that'll get people excited about wanting to join the team and particularly wanting to stay because they see the opportunities that are there for them. That’s the team’s future on Ineos Grenadiers.”
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
