Ethan Hayter on INEOS Grenadiers' problem: "If you run a cycling team like a company, the riders and staff lose their passion"

INEOS Grenadiers saw a lot of important riders and staff depart in 2024 and it's evident that there were internal issues within the team. Ethan Hayter, who had already previously hinted at his unsatisfaction with the departure from the British team, has expanded on his explanation of what went wrong last year.

The Briton is now signed with Soudal - Quick-Step with fresh motivation. "A breath of fresh air compared to Ineos. If you run a cycling team like a company, the riders and staff lose their passion. That was the case with Ineos in recent years. Racing felt more and more like a job," Hayter said in an interview with Sporza. "To be selected for a Grand Tour at Ineos, you either had to be a leader or a domestique. I was somewhere in between. That's why I always just missed out".

"In addition, the team sometimes changed my program, which meant I missed a series of great races. I was scheduled for the Giro and was supposed to ride a series of races with the Giro group, such as the Volta ao Algarve and Tirreno [Adriatico]. But just before my first day of racing, I disappeared from the Giro group. That's why I also missed Algarve and Tirreno and had to make do with the leftovers."

Hayter was essentially racing without a set schedule for most of the year, something very uncommon for a rider of his quality. He won the British national championships in June which seemed to potentially spark a new deal between the two, but this was not the case. He departed the team, not on the best terms, and joining the Belgian squad: "The atmosphere is refreshing in any case. The staff members are sometimes even more enthusiastic than the riders to go on a training camp. I also feel the passion and history that this team carries with it. The fact that the team literally said on the press day that they want to take me to my best level ever is also a relief. The team believes in me and in themselves."

The 26-year is having a secondary calendar throughout the opening month of the season, and then tackle a few World Tour races later in the spring with hilly days where he can win. "I am doing a few climbing classics such as the Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race. With the Tour of Oman, Catalunya, the Basque Country and Romandie, I am riding stage races where there are a few chances for me to win a stage."

The cobbled classics are unlikely to be in his schedule, but he would not mind doing so. "I have already ridden the Tour of Flanders and enjoyed it immensely. Long races like monuments are my thing. I have a high fatigue resistance and that helps in races of more than 6 hours. But for the team it is more important that I win a stage in a WorldTour stage race than that I finish in the top 10 or 20 of the Tour."

However, he will also not likely race a Grand Tour this year, unless he puts in some good performances, the Vuelta a España would be on the table. "I wouldn't call it a problem, but it is a bit like with Ineos. I was thinking about the Giro myself, but Landa and Magnier are the leaders there. I would like to help them, but for the team it is better to commit myself to Catalunya, the Basque Country and Romandie."

"But I would have no problem riding the Vuelta [a España] together with Tim [Merlier]. I don't think there are sprints in which we have to compete against each other. In the flat sprints, I would be a good lead-out. In stages where sprinters have been dropped, I would then have a chance myself."

"I have only had a taste of a grand tour for 10 days in my career. Due to a positive corona test, I had to go home early," he refers to the 2022 Vuelta a España. "It would be nice if I could ride a grand tour again this year."