More shakeups among backroom staff at Ineos Grenadiers

There are more backroom shakeups at Ineos Grenadiers going into 2023.

Ex-pro Ian Stannard will join as sport director and Dajo Sanders comes on board the team’s elite coaching staff, officials confirmed Monday.

“Dajo will be an invaluable addition to our coaching team. He is highly experienced and comes with a unique mix of academic knowledge, personal racing experience and practical coaching insights. While coaching at UCI World Tour level for the last four years, he has twice successfully coached a rider to the podium of a grand tour as well as multiple grand tour stage victories,” said deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth.

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Sanders moves across from Team DSM, and brings a mix of academic and racing experience to Ineos Grenadiers for next season.

Stannard returns to the Ineos fold after a stint as a sport director at Trinity Racing since his retirement in 2020.

Stannard was one of the original riders from the inaugural Team Sky team in 2010, and raced the classics as well as a support rider in the grand tours.

“It felt like it would only be a matter of time before Ian came back to work with us again. He has a wealth of knowledge to pass on, especially when I think about our spring classics and grand tour teams,” Ellingworth said. “I’m looking forward to working with him and sharing time on the road with him again. If there’s anyone who embodies our ‘all in’ racing spirit, it’s Ian.”

The moves are the latest as Ineos Grenadiers makes some some key backroom changes. Longtime sport director Gabriel Rasch left to join Uno-X, while Servais Knaven and Brett Lancaster also leave.

For 2023, the UK-backed team continues its push toward youth, with arrivals of Thymen Arensman (DSM), Leo Hayter (Hagens Berman Axeon), Josh Tarling, and Canadian Michael Leonard. Veteran Connor Swift also joins from Arkéa Samsic.

Departures include some of the team’s top names, including Richard Carapaz and Andrey Amador (EF Education-EasyPost), Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), Dylan Van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma), and Eddie Dunbar (BikeExchange-Jayco). Richie Porte also retired this season.

The team is hopeful of a return to form for 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal, who continues his comeback from a career-threatening crash in January, and that its bet on youth pays off in a big way.