"Hopefully I can help get the team back to where it was" - INEOS wonderkid sets out stall for future success
Cycling
It's not all that long ago that the INEOS Grenadiers were considered the undisputed kings of the peloton. Having seen the likes of UAE Team Emirates, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and more overtake them in recent seasons however, question marks surround the future of the former Team Sky.
One of those riders that INEOS hope can guide them to a bright and successful future, is the 20-year-old American, Artem Shmidt, who's been riding for the team since August. "From a personal standpoint, I just hope to continue now to develop and hopefully I can help get the team back to where it was," he says in conversation with Cycling Weekly. "Whether that’s a team role over the next few years, I really want to prioritise that, helping the team the best I can to get back to where it has been before."
In the 2010s the INEOS Grenadiers, then named Team Sky, were the dominant force in cycling, holding a strong grip over the Grand Tours through the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal and Tao Geoghegan Hart thanks to their revolutionary 'marginal gains' system and their typical 'Sky Train' tactics that the peloton struggled to compete with.
In more recent years and especially in 2024 however, problems have begun to arise. The latest of which has seen an internal dispute end in Tom Pidcock's shock 'deselection' from Il Lombardia, a call that come from the team's upper management no less.
The team haven't completely given up the ghost just yet though. Of late there has been a concerted effort in attempting to bring in potential stars of the future such as Shmidt, his compatriot Andrew August and Danish youngsters Theodor Storm and Peter Oxenberg among others. "For sure it’s the plan," Shmidt notes. "We signed a lot of young guys lately, including myself, AJ August, Magnus Sheffield and Michael Leonard. So I hope we can all develop, push on and help the team in the best way we can." Time will tell if these riders can bring back INEOS to the top of the peloton.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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