The 2025 season is over and soon there will be changes to the staff teams of all World Tour structures. Running a top team is a difficult job and even for a job as selective and important as being a sports director, teams need vast amounts of manpower to take the team through what can be at times a certain point in time where there is presence in three different races. So, who are the faces that have guided INEOS Grenadiers during the 2026 season?
The team has had 14 Sports directors throughout the year, although Zak Dempster, the man who led the team behind the wheel at the Tour de France, has moved away towards Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe where he has already taken up a key management job. He was however a former rider for the British team, and so are many of the names that have continued to lead the team in its tactics throughout the season. Out of these, Oliver Cookson and Kurt-Asle Arvesen are perhaps the most important names, although different men having different roles depending on the races.
The team counts on former riders such as Christian Knees, Dario Cioni, Ian Stannard, Leonardo Basso and Xabier Zandio who were (like Arvesen) all riders for the British team, who then underwent the training to take on a new role.
Furthermore other figures such as Simone Antonini, Josip Rumac and the very experienced Imanol Erviti - who has spent almost two decades racing for Movistar - are important figures in this field and men with experience racing in the pro peloton. Scott Drawer, Adrián López and Casten Jeppesen are also part of the team and take on roles in several races. In 2026 we are set to have a few changes, specially with the departure of Dempster as the head DS of the team.
The British team has benefited from plenty familiar faces in the team car behind, during 2025. @Sirotti
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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