Roger Hammond has joined the Ineos Grenadiers management team after leaving Bahrain Victorious. As initially reported by Cyclingnews last week, Hammond had a job offer on the table from the British team and the former cyclo-cross and road racer has joined as the lead sports director.
“I am very excited to be joining the Ineos Grenadiers,” Hammond said in a statement posted on the team’s website.
“It is a great opportunity to be part of charting the next chapter for the team and I can’t wait to get started. The team is very open to change and to finding new ways to innovate and improve. That is incredibly motivating and I hope I can play my part in developing an ever more integrated performance model that can help bring future success.”
Hammond had been linked with a move throughout the season. He had moved to Bahrain McLaren at the end of 2019, just as Ellingworth was revamping the squad and building a new structure. However, Ellingworth left the team in 2020 after McLaren pulled out of the sport. He returned to Ineos Grenadiers at the start of 2021 with Hammond repeatedly rumoured to be on his way to the British team.
A week ago Hammond told Cyclingnews that he was still weighing up his options and that he had offers from both Bahrain Victorious and Ineos Grenadiers on the table. With the move now complete Ellingworth has added another piece to the management jigsaw as he hopes to rekindle the team’s Tour de France hopes. The team has also signed Ben Williams from Ineos Britannia. He will form part of the performance team but also remain as part of the sailing organisation that Ineos run.
“We are very pleased that Roger and Ben are joining us for the new season. They represent two very important appointments for the Team as we prepare for the next adventure.
“Roger brings significant cycling experience and deep-rooted knowledge of the sport which will be invaluable as our lead Sport Director. Ben brings a fresh perspective and we are keen for him to take a bit of time to stand back and observe how the team works before recommending how we can better integrate the different performance elements that are critical for future success,” Ellingworth added.
“We are proud of what we have achieved but a new chapter obviously lies ahead for us. We know how tough the competition is but there is real drive and determination from everyone here to make 2022 a very memorable year. Roger and Ben have a big part to play in that.”
The signings of both Hammond and Williams come after long-serving Ineos coach, Tim Kerrison, announced that he would leave the team at the end of the season. Kerrison had been part of the squad since the very beginning and was a key part of Tour de France wins for Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, and Geraint Thomas.
It’s still expected that Dave Brailsford will relinquish direct control of the cycling team to Ellingworth and take up a more central role at Ineos. The team won the Giro d’Italia in 2021 thanks to Egan Bernal but their winning record at the Tour de France was broken in 2020 by Tadej Pogacar, with the Slovenian winning his second title in 2021.
