INEOS Grenadiers "hell-bent on developing our own talent" in search for Geraint Thomas replacement Grand Tour leader of the future

With the INEOS Grenadiers' main Grand Tour leader, Geraint Thomas now nearing the end of his career, the team's Performance Director Scott Drawer insists they won't replace the Welshman with another expensive and ready made Grand Tour contender.

Instead, the INEOS Grenadiers will target the youth of the sport and attempt to mould the next generation of Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana challengers from within their own ranks.

“Our owners are hell-bent on developing our own talent. We're not going to buy the top guys in, we’re going to develop our own. That's more exciting for coaches. That's more exciting for riders. If we're going to win Grand Tours again, our investment and work has to be on young talent,” Drawer explains of the team's plan in conversation with Cycling News. “We're not thinking about next year, we're thinking about what are the demands of the sport in 2030. If you think about next year, everyone else will be ahead of us. So we're certainly trying to be a bit more creative and rebuild."

With youthful riders such as Andrew August and Peter Oxenberg having joined the British based outfit over the last year, the plan is already coming to fruition for the INEOS Grenadiers. Somewhat curiously however, INEOS do not currently have a development team and according to Drawer, there are no plans to form one either.

“We already have a small development programme called ‘Ascent’ and we’re going to scale that up,” Drawer explains. “The traditional pathways of becoming a WorldTour cyclist have changed. It all starts at a younger age. We're thinking deeply about how to get that right. Rider development will be a big part of the team in the future. We want the best young British talent, and any young talent, to look at what we're doing and then want to develop with us.”