Ineos Grenadiers name new CEO and performance director after Rod Ellingworth departure

Ineos Grenadiers have announced a number of new appointments to their leadership team ahead of 2024 after the departures of Rod Ellingworth and Roger Hammond, among others, this year.

Ellingworth recently stepped down as deputy team principal, having effectively led the team in the absence of team principal Dave Brailsford, who'd moved into a more general role across Ineos' wider sporting projects.

After a few weeks of uncertainty, Ineos confirmed on Wednesday a number of key changes.

The team have now named a CEO, in the form of John Allert, who was previously managing director of the squad, and the most senior member of staff still at the team. He will take up the role with immediate effect.

• Read more: Rod Ellingworth resigns from Ineos Grenadiers

The British outfit will also welcome a new performance director, Scott Drawer, who previously worked with the team’s performance hub between 2016 and 2018.

There are also changes in the team’s sports director personnel. Former pro Steve Cummings will become the director of racing, and the team confirmed the arrival of Imanol Erviti as a sports director, after the Spaniard was spotted on the team’s training camp earlier this week.

In terms of what the changes mean, the team explained that Allert, who has worked for Ineos since 2022, will take over the day-to-day running of the team, and report to Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc at the wider Ineos Sport organisation.

“It is a privilege to lead this team going forward. I’m humbled by the talent of our rider group, my teammates, the calibre of our partners, and the opportunity to work hard together and write a new chapter of success for the Ineos Grenadiers,” Allert said in a press release issued by the team. “This team has created an incredible and successful legacy, but our ambitions for the future are greater than ever. The strengthening of our performance team is perfectly aligned with these ambitions.”

• Read more: Imanol Erviti set to join Ineos Grenadiers' staff following retirement

Ineos have been without a head of performance for several months after the previous head of performance, Ben Williams, departed for Queens Park Rangers football club earlier this year. They have now filled that gap for 2024, though, with Scott Drawer returning to the team to head up the performance department.

Since leaving his previous role in the team in 2018, after working with the team through five Grand Tour victories, Drawer has been the head of sport at the Millfield School, a top independent school in the UK with a track record of producing athletes.

“When the opportunity came to return to this team, I jumped at the chance,” he said. “The Ineos Grenadiers are entering an exciting phase, they have some big goals for the future and I can’t wait to be a part of it. This is a performance-led team with innovation at its heart, and I am looking forward to working with a group that’s so focused on excellence and competing to win.”

Erviti added to Cummings-led sports director personnel

Additionally to the important reshuffle of key leadership roles after Ellingworth’s departure, the team have also made some routine changes to their sports director line-up, which will be led by the new director of racing Steve Cummings. Cummings has worked as a DS for the team since 2021, after racing for them in 2010 and 2011.

Despite questions being raised over Ineos’ direction, especially in Grand Tours, Cummings gave an optimistic view as he steps into a more senior role.

“The focus, goal and vision of the team is very clear and I’m proud to lead us into battle at the world’s biggest races. We’re absolutely focussed on getting back to the top step of the podium,” Cummings said.

“We have an impressive depth of experience combined with an exciting mix of young talented riders in this team, all complemented by a world class group of staff. We will give absolutely everything to achieve our goals and I can’t wait to start the new season.”

They have also picked up the recently-retired Imanol Erviti, who moves from racing at Movistar to DSing with Ineos after a long career on the road. The confirmation comes after his appointment was unofficially revealed as he attended the team’s ongoing camp in Mallorca.

“It’s going to be a role that will push me out of my comfort zone – a different job from being a professional rider, a new team from what I’ve been accustomed to and a new language to work in,” Erviti said.

“But I feel that there’s no better place to learn than in a team like the INEOS Grenadiers. Their ethos is founded in rigour and the desire to continually improve through innovation. That’s a mentality that I find attractive and I’m excited to see where we’ll go in 2024.”