Portugal Colonial - Ex-Tour champion Thomas appointed as Ineos director of racing

Thomas will work closely with senior management, providing input into issues such as race strategy and rider recruitment.

Thomas won the Tour in 2018 with Team Sky, which became Team Ineos the following year after its takeover by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, owner of the chemicals giant.

The Welshman, who also won two Olympic gold medals for Team GB, in 2008 and 2012, retired in September after the Tour of Britain.

"This team has been my home since day one, and stepping into this role feels like a natural next step," said the 39-year-old.

"I've learnt so much from the people around me -- fellow riders and staff -- and I now want to continue building on our incredible past success into the future.

"I'm passionate about helping the next generation come through, to pass on that experience and keep pushing the team forward towards our mission of winning Grand Tours again."

Ineos director of sport Dave Brailsford said: "He has lived and breathed elite performance throughout his career. He always set himself very ambitious goals and invariably went on to achieve them.

"He knows what the process takes, how to deal with the highs and lows of elite sport and his willingness to now to share this and mentor others to do the same is a great asset for the team."

Team Sky enjoyed a string of successes at the Tour de France with Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Thomas in the saddle.

Team Ineos was rebranded as the Ineos Grenadiers in 2020.

A.Silveira--PC