Ian Stannard joins Trinity Racing as sports director

Trinity Racing have announced that former Ineos Grenadier rider, Ian Stannard, will join the team as a sports director as the team steps up to the Continental level of racing for the first time.

Stannard, who is 33-years-old, had to retire from racing with Ineos Grenadiers last season due to the issues he was experiencing from his rheumatoid arthritis, meaning he has had to look elsewhere for a role in the sport.

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Speaking in a press release by the team, Stannard said: "I have been very impressed with the progression of Trinity Racing since the team’s inception in 2018.

"They have quickly become one of the leading development teams in Europe and I look forward to starting my new role for the coming season.

"Obviously the road is what I know best, and we have an impressive roster of riders, Ben [Healy] and Thomas [Gloag] to name a couple, who we are confident can build on the success they showed last year in some of the biggest Under 23 races in the world."

Trinity, Tom Pidcock's (Ineos Grenadiers) former team, are also going to be joining the UCI mountain biking and gravel racing ranks, which is something Stannard is looking forward to being a part of.

"I am also very excited about getting stuck into the other sections of Trinity’s calendar during the year, particularly gravel and MTB.

"As a WT pro for so long, I only ever got to enjoy a small bit of MTB’ing in the winter, but I have seen how the off-road side of the sport has grown, how riders these days really benefit from mixing disciplines, and I look forward to immersing myself in these worlds to learn, and help our roster in the process."

The press release doesn't specify how long the two-time Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner is down to work with the team, but it does say that he will be at the team for the coming seasons.

Stannard, who raced in the pro ranks for 14 years, is hoping that his vast experience can rub off on the young riders in the team as they look to develop the next big star.

After the success story of Tom Pidcock making his big move to Ineos Grenadiers, they will be hoping that other riders can have a similar career ahead, on the road, on muddy tracks, and on gravel.