Ineos Grenadiers have announced the signing of Omar Fraile, their second of four today. The Spaniard will join the team on a two-year contract from January 2022.
Fraile joins the team from Team Astana-Premier Tech. He spent four years at the Kazakhstan team, which included the Spaniard's proudest moment when he achieved a stage victory at the 2018 Tour de France.
The 31-year-old is fulfilling a dream by signing for the British team, as he looks forward to enjoying successful working relationships with the other riders in the team.
Fraile said: “Ineos has always been the team that you dream of riding for, it’s always been the team that I’ve looked at and wanted to race for.
“It’s a team where you see the riders really working together as a team, and that’s what I really enjoy doing, being there and working for my teammates. I think it’s going to be a good fit, and I’m really looking forward to working with everyone.”
The climbing and breakaway specialist has won five mountain classification jerseys in his career, with two of them coming at the Vuelta a España, in 2015 and 2016. He also won this year's Spanish National Road Championships, justifying deputy team principal, Rod Ellingworth's enthusiasm for having secured Fraile for the next two years.
He said: “Omar is a rider that has been on our radar for a while, he has shown time and again his versatility as a bike racer and his willingness to help and show unwavering support to his team-mates. An attitude that fits so well with the Ineos Grenadiers’ ethos. We’re excited to have him on board for the coming season, I think he will be a great fit for the team.”
Ineos have already announced the signing of German under 23 national road race champion Kim Heiduk today, and state that they will unveil two more riders by the end of the day. Their new signings will join riders such as Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas and Filippo Ganna in what is already a strong roster of riders.
