Ineos Grenadiers rider Geraint Thomas admits he is 'gutted' after Rod Ellingworth announces shock resignation
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Published 21/11/2023 at 13:16 GMT
Ineos Grenadiers deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth announced that he will resign from his position with the British cycling team on Friday. It comes amid a shake-up at the team, with Geraint Thomas admitting that he was 'gutted' to learn of the news, with the Brit having worked with Ellingworth since the early stages of his professional cycling career.
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Geraint Thomas has become the first Ineos Grenadiers rider to publicly acknowledge Rod Ellingworth's shock resignation, admitting he was "gutted" to see the Deputy Team Principal leave.
Ellingworth, who worked with the team during two spells, was part of the original management team when Team Sky was formed back in 2009.
He went on to experience great success with the team, winning multiple Grand Tour titles.
The 51-year-old, who announced that he would be leaving the team on Friday, also managed the British Cycling Academy, and notably coached Thomas during the early stages of the cyclists' glittering career.
The duo joined up again when Thomas moved to Team Sky in 2010, where he helped the team secure six Tour de France titles, winning the coveted tour himself in 2018.
But admitting his shock at the coach's departure, Thomas admitted he had spoken to Ellingworth in the days leading up to the announcement, claiming the Deputy Team Principlal was "sad" to be leaving.
“I say disappointing but it was gutting really to see Rod step down or leave, or however you want to phrase it," he said on his
.
"I spoke to him and he’s sad to be leaving but family stuff and whatever, and I don’t want to go into all the details, but from my side, and having known him for so long - a good twenty years now - on a personal level I know him well and we get on.
"I feel like he was good and great for the team. But things change and people move on. It was quite surprising as well.”
His departure comes after Roger Hammond also announced that he would be leaving his position as Sport Director Coordinator.
Rumours are also circulating that team principal Sir Dave Brailsford could be set to join Sir Jim Ratcliff in a management role at Manchester United when the Ineos CEO's £1.3bn deal to buy a 25 per cent share in the Premier League football club is finalised.
But Thomas hinted that Ellingworth may still be seen in the periphery.
"It was all over Twitter and he sent me a message saying he was leaving but it was leaked, which isn’t a surprise really. It will be sad to see him leave but he’ll still be around," Thomas added.
"He’ll still be following and he wants to be involved in the sport because that’s what he does and loves. Good luck to him. It’s all change in the team now I guess. A top bloke and he’ll definitely be missed.”
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In 2023, across Europe, Eurosport and discovery+ broadcast over 300 days of cycling, including every key race from the UCI World Tour and UCI Women's World Tour. 210 events were broadcast with over 1,000 hours of live coverage inclusive of digital platforms.
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