Steve Cummings has revealed that he has decided to 'step away' from Ineos Grenadiers after months of speculation about his role in the team.
Cyclingnews understands that head coach Xabier Artetxe will also leave the team at the end of the season, as the major shake-up of key staff continues.
Ineos Grenadiers preferred not to comment when contacted by Cyclingnews as they planned for 2025 at a get-together in Manchester.
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Cummings was Director of Racing at Ineos Grenadiers but has been replaced in some way by Kurt Asle Arvesen, who was recently announced as lead Sport Director. Cummings was lead directeur sportif for the Tour de France for several years but was dropped from the role just a few days before this year's race.
Cummings' relationship with Tom Pidcock had reportedly become difficult. The team insisted Cummings was playing a remote role during the Tour, but he has not worked as a directeur sportif at any other major races since then.
Pidcock seemed set to leave Ineos Grenadiers after he was ''deselected' for Il Lombardia by senior management but a transfer deal was never agreed and Pidcock is now back in the fold at the team and is in Manchester for their winter get-together.
Cummings has never spoken about any issues or difficulties at Ineos Grenadiers and posted a message on his LinkedIn page to clarify his situation and sign off from the team in style.
“I’m aware there has been some speculation so I just wanted to clarify my situation. I’ve reached the decision to step away from INEOS," Cummings wrote.
"This may seem like a big move, but I’m now ready to begin a new phase of my career. It’s been a privilege to work with such a talented group of riders and staff for the last 4 years. I’d really like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support and dedication."
Rivals teams are likely to try to sign Cummings for 2025 but he did not reveal his future destination.
“I’ve always enjoyed and thrived working in a high-performance environment and I will continue to have significant involvement in the sport. My focus is now on a new challenge within professional cycling," Cummings said.
Luke Rowe, Ethan Hayter and Jhonatan Narváez have all left Ineos Grenadiers as the British team tries to fight a gradual decline in results and relevance as a big-budget super team. Axel Laurance, Lucas Hamilton, Bob Jungels, Samuel Watson, Victor Langellotti and Peter Øxenberg have been signed for 2025.
Performance Director Scott Drawer has led the changes at Ineos. He has created streams to focus on stage racing, Classics and future talent. Other new staff members include directeur sportif Leonardo Basso, new Lead Performance Coach Tom Helleman and new Head of Performance Support and Innovation Mehdi Kordi, who worked on the track with British and Dutch sprint squads. Dr Billy Fitton joins as the head of engineering and technology from British Cycling, replacing Dan Bigham.
“We are going to spend the rest of this year making further positive changes: setting the team’s performance plans and goals, executing some key training camps and getting the whole team ready to race hard in January," Drawer said when the staff changes were confirmed.
"We want to set the right tone from the start and will be working closely with our riders to establish the culture which will facilitate success and be fundamental to our future."
