Luke Rowe, Ben Swift and Laurens De Plus extend with Ineos Grenadiers

After a slow start to the transfer and extension season, Ineos Grenadiers have finally begun to confirm their riders for 2024, with Luke Rowe, Kim Heiduk, Ben Swift and Laurens De Plus the latest batch of names to extend their tenure with the team.

So far, most of the team’s announcements have been extensions, with Geraint Thomas and Carlos Rodríguez also recommitting to the team earlier this month as next season’s roster begins to take shape, albeit looking very similar to previous years.

Read more:

• Geraint Thomas signs two-year contract extension with Ineos Grenadiers
• Carlos Rodríguez signs four-year contract extension at Ineos Grenadiers

In retaining the likes of Thomas, Swift and Rowe, the team will continue with a core of riders who have been at the centre of the squad in one way or another since its inception in 2010.

"This team has been my home for my entire career and to ride on with them is a real honour,” Rowe said of his new contract. “I’ve been fortunate to play my part in some of the brilliant results we’ve achieved in the past and will do the same for the very exciting future to come.

"My time as a Grenadier has included some incredible memories and I can’t wait to create many more. As one of the older, wiser heads, along with the likes of Geraint and Swift, we have a real opportunity to help the incredible array of young talent in the team as we look to achieve our goals.”

Read more: Josh Tarling: Ineos Grenadiers will be a really strong team in the coming years

For Swift, signing a two-year extension as he heads into his 16th year as a professional, the next stage of his career will also be about taking on a team support role, rather than expecting results of his own.

"I’m really looking forward to working with the young guys again; we’ve got a great crop of young talent and working with the team to progress. Fundamentally I love this sport, this team and I love cycling, so I’m delighted to continue for another two years,” he said.

With 28-year-old domestique Laurens De Plus also extending his contract to the end of 2026 this week, the focus of the recent announcements seems to be around the older, more experienced riders, but there are also a number of young riders on the team’s books for 2024 and beyond, as Rowe says.

23-year-old German Kim Heiduk will stay with Ineos Grenadiers until the end of 2025, the team confirmed on Tuesday, whilst new signing AJ August helps bolster the pool of future talent in the team, alongside Josh Tarling and Magnus Sheffield.

Read more: Pro cycling transfers - every move for the 2024 season

Heiduk has perhaps had a less headline-grabbing start to his pro career, compared to the likes of Tarling and Sheffield, but has shown promise in both his own results and as a domestique.

"In one way, the last two years with the Team have gone super fast, then in another it feels like I’ve been here a lot longer because of how happy I am here, Heiduk said. "I‘m thankful to be a rider for the Ineos Grenadiers and really excited to continue my journey with the team. I’m happy with how I’ve developed as a rider over the last two seasons and want to continue like this.

"In this team there is a lot of experience and it’s an honour to learn from some of the best riders in the peloton. Especially from riders like Luke, Geraint and Kwiatkowski, just to name a few, they share their experiences on and off the bike."

At present, the number of confirmed Ineos riders for 2024 sits at 23, with only two new faces in the door so far, as the contract policy seems to be focusing on consolidating the team they have rather than making any big-name signings.

The arrival of former world time trial champion Tobias Foss is expected to be announced before the end of the year, whilst Luke Plapp - officially contracted with Ineos to the end of 2024 - is set to make an early departure to Jayco-AlUla.