Ineos Grenadiers have announced the signing of Australian sprinter Sam Welsford on a two-year contract.
The 29-year-old, who has been at the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe team for the past two seasons, won the first WorldTour race of this year when he took stage one of the Tour Down Under. He went on to add two more in this year’s race, bringing his career total to six in the Australian stage race. He has also won the points classification there for the past two seasons.
So far he only has one Grand Tour participation – the Tour de France in 2023, where he managed a top-10 finish on stage 11.
“I’m really excited to become a Grenadier,” said Welsford in a statement on the team’s website. “I’ve always admired the team’s professionalism and the way they commit fully to a goal.”
He added: “I feel like this is the exact right environment for me to keep progressing as a sprinter and to chase big results. I’m very hungry to contribute, to learn and to race with the kind of intent that this team is renowned for.”
The team’s new director of racing, Geraint Thomas, added: “We haven’t had many sprinters in the team in the past but when we have, they’ve been pretty successful, so hopefully Sam can continue that history.
“Having been given an early insight into what he’s capable of physically, we believe there’s still plenty to unlock with Sam,” he added. “The team has shown how dialled we are in positioning our fast guys for the finish, and we’ll do the same to give him opportunities to win.
Thomas also paid homage to Welsford’s team pursuit pedigree, something the Welshman will be able to relate to: “He’s got a great track pedigree – Olympic and multiple world champion in the team pursuit – so the way he’s used to working there will fit right into our team environment as well,” said Thomas. “I’m super excited to see him get stuck in.”
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