Geraint Thomas stays at Ineos in management role - 'A natural next step'

Geraint Thomas will remain at Ineos Grenadiers in 2026 as Director of Racing. The Welshman had signalled that he was likely to join the team management following his retirement at the end of this season, and Ineos confirmed the appointment on Thursday morning.

“This team has been my home since day one, and stepping into this role feels like a natural next step. I’ve learnt so much from the people around me - fellow riders and staff - and I now want to continue building on our incredible past success into the future,” Thomas said in a statement released by Ineos.

After beginning his professional career with Barloworld, Thomas joined Team Sky, as the squad was then known, for its debut season in 2010. He would spend the remainder of his career with the team, winning the Tour de France in 2018 and finishing on the podium again in both 2019 and 2022.

“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,” Thomas said. “The Grenadiers will continue to race with purpose, humility and a commitment to excellence - and I’m excited to help shape that future.”

Although the Ineos press release describes Thomas’ role as a “newly created leadership position,” the title of ‘Director of Racing’ was previously held by Steve Cummings, who left the team at the end of 2024. Cummings now works for Jayco-Alula.

According to the press release, Thomas will work alongside performance director Scott Drawer and Dave Brailsford, who rejoined Ineos’ day-to-day operations ahead of this year’s Tour de France following his ill-fated stint at Manchester United. The Ineos statement does not mention the role of team CEO, John Allert.

“Geraint typifies what it means to be a Grenadier,” Brailsford said. “He has lived and breathed elite performance throughout his career. He always set himself very ambitious goals and invariably went on to achieve them.

“He knows what the process takes, how to deal with the highs and lows of elite sport, and his willingness to now share this and mentor others to do the same is a great asset for the team. The fact that he has stayed so humble and always maintained a great sense of humour are also great attributes to bring to his new role.”

Before Thomas finished his career in Cardiff on the Tour of Britain in September, he confirmed that he was in talks with Ineos about taking up a role in the team’s management. “It will be about finding my feet with that, how that works really and just learning because as a rider, I’ve definitely got a lot of knowledge, and I feel like I can help out the boys a lot,” he said. “But then also there's a lot of other stuff behind the scenes that as riders you don’t really see.”

Ineos will hope the addition of Thomas to the staff can help revive the fortunes of a team that has punched considerably below its weight at Grand Tours in recent seasons. Indeed, Thomas is responsible for the team’s last three podium finishes at Grand Tours, at the 2022 Tour and the 2023 and 2024 editions of the Giro d’Italia. The team’s last Grand Tour victory came in 2021, when Egan Bernal claimed the maglia rosa at the Giro.