Ineos Grenadiers may have endured their worst-ever season, but the team’s newly signed 20-year-old American, Artem Shmidt, says he hopes he can play a part in helping the team reclaim its status as one of the biggest and most successful in the WorldTour.
With just 14 wins achieved this year, 2024 has officially become the squad’s low point from a results perspective. 2020, the Covid-affected season, previously held the record as the team’s worst year yet - with just 19 wins in the record books - but the lack of victories this year has stood out.
Shmidt headed to Canada last month to race the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Montréal for Ineos. The Georgia native was only making his second and third appearances at WorldTour level, but the young American talent shone as he went on the attack during the race in Québec - won by Michael Matthews - before getting in the thick of the action in Montréal just days later.
Shmidt finished 95th and 89th in the two races, but told Cycling Weekly in Canada that he had taken heart from his first few performances at cycling’s top level and explained that he hoped he could change what he he felt was a negative outlook surrounding the team in the years ahead.
"It was really good to see that I have the legs for this level and the confidence to get in breakaways and try and make things happen," Shmidt said. "Even though I got caught in Québec, I took a lot out of that experience and I think I can really go forward with it now into the future."
"From a personal standpoint, I just hope to continue now to develop and hopefully I can help get the team back to where it was," he added. "Whether that’s a team role over the next few years, I really want to prioritise that, helping the team the best I can to get back to where it has been before."
The team have announced a handful of signings for 2025, with one of them being British pro Sam Watson. Axel Laurance has also joined from Alpecin-Deceuninck along with Bob Jungels from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, who will provide experience as Luke Rowe gets set to retire and move into DS work elsewhere. Ineos Grenadiers have 10 riders aged 23 and under, some of the most promising young talent in the world, and Shmidt is one of four young North Americans at the squad.
Shmidt told Cycling Weekly that he was fully committed to helping the team regain the ability to compete with the likes of UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike. Both of the latter two squads have dominated the Grand Tour’s for the last two years while Ineos have been left empty-handed.
"For sure it’s the plan," Shmidt said. "We signed a lot of young guys lately, including myself, AJ August, Magnus Sheffield and Michael Leonard. So I hope we can all develop, push on and help the team in the best way we can."
