Roger Hammond joins Ineos Grenadiers as lead sport director from Bahrain Victorious
The British WorldTour team also bolster their coaching staff with the addition of Ben Williams

Roger Hammond, the former British professional who has worked with a number of WorldTour teams as a DS in the past few seasons, has joined Ineos Grenadiers.
The 47-year-old has been appointed as the team's lead sport director for the 2021 season as Ineos attempt to regain their title as the sport's most commanding team and return to winning the Tour de France.
Hammond has been considering the offer to join Ineos for a period of time after working with Bahrain Victorious in the past 12 months.
Before then, he was a DS with Team Dimension Data between 2016 and 2018, where he was credited with playing a pivotal role in Mark Cavendish's four stage wins at the 2016 Tour. He has also worked as a team manager with the now-defunct British Continental team Madison-Genesis for a period of five years.
"I am very excited to be joining the Ineos Grenadiers," Hammond told his new employer's website.
"It is a great opportunity to be part of charting the next chapter for the team and I can’t wait to get started.
"The team is very open to change and to find new ways to innovate and improve. That is incredibly motivating and I hope I can play my part in developing an ever more integrated performance model that can help bring future success."
The team's deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth, who had hired Hammond to work at Bahrain-Victorious before himself switching to Ineos last autumn, commented: “Roger brings significant cycling experience and deep-rooted knowledge of the sport which will be invaluable as our lead sport director."
Under Hammond's tutelage in the 2020 season, Bahrain-Victorious were the sixth most winningest team in the men's peloton, scoring victories with 11 different riders and in 16 WorldTour races.
Many of the successes would not have been tipped at the turn of the year, most notably Damiano Caruso's second place on GC at the Giro d'Italia and Sonny Colbrelli's incredible season that climaxed with an epic win at Paris-Roubaix.
Elsewhere, Ben Williams has been recruited from the Ineos Sport Group to work as a performance coach with the WorldTour team.
>>> Drugs raid in Romania results in police discovering Filippo Ganna’s stolen track bike
A former soldier and most recently head of human performance at Ineos, Williams will continue to work with Ineos' sailing team but will be seen as part of Tim Kerrison's replacement. Coach Kerrison is leaving the Ineos set-up after 12 years.
On Williams' appointment, Ellingworth said: "Ben brings a fresh perspective and we are keen for him to take a bit of time to stand back and observe how the team works before recommending how we can better integrate the different performance elements that are critical for future success."
The make-up of Ineos' backroom staff continues to change, with rumours suggesting that team principal David Brailsford will relinquish some duties to focus on a more senior role with Ineos Sport Group.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Chris first started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2013 on work experience and has since become a regular name in the magazine and on the website. Reporting from races, long interviews with riders from the peloton and riding features drive his love of writing about all things two wheels.
Probably a bit too obsessed with mountains, he was previously found playing and guiding in the Canadian Rockies, and now mostly lives in the Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees where he’s a ski instructor in the winter and cycling guide in the summer. He almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.
-
-
'This was my most beautiful victory' - Giulio Ciccone overwhelmed by Giro d'Italia win
The Italian powered to an impressive solo victory on stage 15 of the Giro on Sunday
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Ellen van Dijk says breaking Hour Record will be difficult: 'Joss Lowden's record is a really high standard'
The Dutchwoman will attempt to break Lowden's distance of 48.405km at the Velodrome Suisse on Monday
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers insist they had a 'good day' on stage four of the Giro d'Italia, amid confusing tactics
The train returned, but Pavel Sivakov was dropped on Mount Etna
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Pavel Sivakov: 'I’m really happy to be back to my level'
Ineos Grenadiers rider in break at Tour of the Alps, caught with under 10km to go
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Bradley Wiggins: Ineos Grenadiers victory at Paris-Roubaix was 'typical Dave Brailsford'
Former Tour de France winner spent the day on a motorbike covering the race
By Adam Becket • Published
-
'You gotta love bike racing don't you, it's the best thing in the world' — Ben Turner after a dramatic first Paris-Roubaix
Ineos Grenadiers rider claims 11th after crashing, but sees teammate win race
By Adam Becket • Published
-
From finishing outside the time limit to winning Paris-Roubaix, Dylan van Baarle 'buzzing' after victory
Dutch rouleur claims first Paris-Roubaix for Ineos Grenadiers after 12 years of trying
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers head to Paris-Roubaix without one 'pure leader', but lots of options
Filippo Ganna is a favourite for the race, but says he doesn't know why
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Filippo Ganna to lead Ineos Grenadiers at Paris-Roubaix
British squad announce seven man team for Hell of the North
By Adam Becket • Published
-
'Maybe we need to lose a few races so we don’t get too confident' - are Ineos Grenadiers the form Classics team?
Brabantse Pijl performance saw the team win race for second year in a row, with three in top five
By Adam Becket • Published