'It is time to change goals' - Egan Bernal's coach confirms Ineos Grenadiers exit

The staffing changes at Ineos Grenadiers have continued with head coach Xabier Artetxe confirming in a LinkedIn post that he has now left the team.

Artetxe coached both Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodríguez, working closely with the former after he arrived at Ineos in 2018, and was heavily involved in his victories at the 2019 Tour de France and 2021 Giro d’Italia. He also played an important role in Bernal’s rehabilitation after his serious crash during training at the start of 2022 in Colombia.

Prior to fracturing his collarbone at the Clásica Jaén in Spain earlier this week, Bernal highlighted the work of both Artetxe and an Ineos Grenadiers soigneur, Cristian Alonso, in helping him return to fitness after the 2022 incident.

Artetxe was reported to be on the move at the end of last season, with the news trickling through around the time of the departure of Steve Cummings from Ineos. But the Spaniard has now confirmed in a lengthy LinkedIn post that he will be moving on to new challenges.

"Everything comes to an end, and after years of hard work, discipline, successes, and failures, I am leaving the team that has helped me grow both personally and professionally," Artetxe wrote. "I want to express my deepest gratitude to Sir Dave Brailsford, Rod Ellingworth, Tim Kerrison, and Fran Millar for giving me the opportunity in 2014 to be part of the powerful Team Sky. Without the trust they placed in me, I would never have fulfilled many of my dreams."

"These have been ten incredible seasons in which the team has won five Tour de France titles, three Giro d'Italia titles, one Vuelta a España, several 'Monuments', as well as World Championships and Olympic medals in different disciplines,” he continued. "I also don't want to forget Nicolas Portal, who was always willing to help me from the very first day we met. We quickly connected and became more than just colleagues. His friendship and energy will always be with me."

As well as Bernal and Rodríguez, Artetxe also worked with the likes of Richard Carapaz before his move to EF Education-EasyPost. Artetxe thanked all the riders he had worked with during his ten year spell with Ineos and picked out some memorable moments, including the Ecuadorian's victory in the road race at the Tokyo Olympic games.

He added: "It is time to change goals and start new challenges and projects that I am very excited about. Challenges that will push me out of my comfort zone and help me improve, something that coaches should never forget. Don’t think I am leaving cycling behind; I will always remain connected to this sport because it has always been and always will be my passion."

In addition to the departures of both Artetxe and Cummings, Dan Bigham left Ineos last September to become Head of Engineering at another major WorldTour team, Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe. Ineos announced a raft of changes to their performance staff in the autumn after a review had been carried out by performance director Dr Scott Drawer.

The team has enjoyed a successful start to the new season with Josh Tarling winning the individual time trial on stage two of the UAE Tour this week. This followed on from Michał Kwiatkowski winning the team’s first pro race in 226 days at Clásica Jaén on Monday. Ineos are also reportedly looking for a new second sponsor in order to aid their return to the top level of the sport.

Ineos Grenadiers were contacted for comment in relation to this story.