INEOS Grenadiers are betting in the British youth, and they have secured one of it's brightest talent Ben Turner for several more years. A collaboration that's set to continue with the classics specialist.
“It was definitely the best period of my life,” Turner told Cycling Weekly. “I can’t wait to do it again, and I can’t wait to be back in the Classics. As a kid it was the Tour de France that I dreamt of racing one day, but the races I did this season in the Classics were just as much of a dream that I aspired to.”
The Briton signed with INEOS this season and had very strong performances in the cobbles, riding to 8th at the Dwars door Vlaandere, 4th at De Brabantse Pijl and 11th at Paris-Roubaix on his debut season as a World Tour level.
Team performance manager Rod Ellingworth was keen on the renewal aswell: “He’s taken to professional cycling very quickly and naturally, and there’s no doubt he has a very bright career ahead. He had an absolutely brilliant first season as a Grenadier and shown us what a tremendous talent he is.”
“I’ll be having another big spring block again next year and hopefully I can perform really well again. If I can make another step up, that’d be really great,” he continued. With Dylan van Baarle joining rival team Jumbo-Visma, Turner will be having more freedom within INEOS. He's proven his quality already, however he will soon be under more pressure to achieve results for the team with the highest budget in the peloton.
“I can’t really say what that means exactly as we’ll have to see when I’m there, but my first year I over-achieved what my expectation was. There’s not more pressure on me now, but now I know I can do it so I need to make that next level, do other things, and race bigger races," Turner added.
Later in the year he rode the Vuelta a Espana, mostly with a green card, occasionally supporting the likes of Carlos Rodríguez and Ethan Hayter, gaining valuable experience. “I can look back now and say it was fantastic. I did quite a good job and it was nice to know what I can do on the climbs and over three weeks."
“It was nice to have a little bit of freedom in the Vuelta too. We had other team ambitions, but we know from my high power in training that I can sprint well. That’s something else to work on and I think the whole Vuelta experience will set me up nicely for next year," he said.
Although the team is having ever more focus on cyclocross, where Turner developed, he will not be riding off-road this winter unlike his compatriot Tom Pidcock or Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. “The road is key for me. It’s the first time I’ve made the decision not to do cross, which is a big thing, but next year’s going to be an even bigger step up so I need some rest and downtime," he concluded.
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