Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) has been appointed Director of Racing with immediate effect, formally ending his 16-year riding career with the team. The newly created senior role places the 2018 Tour de France winner at the centre of race strategy, rider recruitment, development and race readiness as INEOS Grenadiers push through an internal rebuild following a bruising 2024 campaign and subsequent performance review.
Thomas will work directly alongside Sir Dave Brailsford and Performance Director Dr Scott Drawer within the senior management structure. Announcing the move via the team, the 39-year-old framed the transition as a continuation rather than a departure.
“This team has been my home since day one, and stepping into this role feels like a natural next step,” Thomas said. “I’m passionate about helping the next generation come through, to pass on that experience and keep pushing the team forward towards our mission of winning Grand Tours again.”
The appointment follows Thomas’s retirement at the Tour of Britain in September, where he brought the curtain down in Cardiff on a tenure that stretched back to the launch of Team Sky in 2010. As the squad’s longest-serving rider, he has been central to its defining moments, from early Classics breakthroughs to its Grand Tour dominance.
The combination of Brailsford and Thomas at the top of the sporting structure will be widely read as a return to the marginal gains culture that underpinned the team’s peak years.
Key early indicators will be his influence on Grand Tour planning, his role in mentoring the squad’s emerging leaders, and his input on recruitment and backroom appointments.
How quickly those decisions translate into results will define whether INEOS Grenadiers can re-establish themselves as the reference point in stage racing from 2026 onwards.
