Ineos Grenadiers signs Tom Pidcock, Richie Porte, Laurens de Plus and Dani Martinez
Sep 25 2020 10:33 pm CET
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Team Ineos Grenadiers has confirmed four signings to close the 2021 roster: Tom Pidcock, Richie Porte, Laurens de Plus and Dani Martinez.
After the announcement of the signing of Adam Yates, now the British team has confirmed four new riders that will complete the roster for the 2021 season. Pidcock is 21 and has won the 2020 Baby Giro and is set to lead Great Britain in the elite men's road race of the World Championships of Imola -his contract will start on March 1 2021.
"I am incredibly excited and proud to be signing for the Ineos Grenadiers," he said. "Like so many British cyclists of my generation, I have always aspired to race on the road with this team - to me, the best in the world.
"I just want to keep racing, learning and growing as a bike rider, and having the opportunity to do that in this team is amazing. I feel like I'm ready for the WorldTour but also excited to keep exploring multiple disciplines with the support of this team behind me."
Porte will make his return to the team in which he rode from 2012 to 2015 after finishing on the podium of the 2020 Tour de France. "I had four fantastic years and some of the happiest memories riding here," the Australian commented. "I weighed up the options this year and I'm very motivated to be able to finish my career at such a fantastic team.
"I've been privileged with the teams I've ridden with but the camaraderie in this team is just incredible. It's a great atmosphere and it will be nice to come back and hit the ground running. There are still so many good people and friends in the team that I've worked with before. I'm motivated to be a part of more victories and to come back and race with some of the best guys in the world. I know what my role is – I know I can still win races on my day, but I see myself slotting in as a climbing domestique and it's something I really look forward to."
De Plus has already shown his talents as a versatile climber and his palmares includes a victory in the BinckBank Tour. "I am really happy to have this chance," he affirmed. "In the peloton, everybody talks about this team and the way they have taken cycling to a higher level. I want to be a part of that. It was not an easy decision, of course, but riding for this Team has been my dream for a long time.
"Last year's Tour de France felt like a breakthrough for me and I just want to keep going on that trajectory. I am looking forward to learning from the best Grand Tour riders and developing over the next few years. There is a super strong group of young riders at the Ineos Grenadiers and I want to be part of that as this group develops and gets even better."
Martinez just showed an outstading performance in the Tour de France after having won the Criterium du Dauphine just before it. "I have been making progress over the last few seasons and have been really lucky with the support I have had, but the opportunity to ride for the Ineos Grenadiers was too good an opportunity to not take. I believe this is the right time to try and take my career to the next level and I am hugely motivated to learn from the best in the world.
"I obviously know Egan and a few of the other guys in the team too so it will be nice to continue to ride with some compatriots."
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