As part of a strategic shift in team culture, racing style, and athlete demographics, Ineos Grenadiers will invest in a development program to identify and nurture the next Grand Tour leader for 2025.

In what could be described as a post-Geraint Thomas, post-Rod Ellingworth era, Ineos is looking to develop talent in-house through its development program. It will also try to attract the best players, especially British talent, by signing the best staff and working with outside advisors to close the gap with superteam rivals UAE Team Emirates, Visma Lease-a-Bike, and Lidl Trek.

Performance director Scott Drewer revealed to Cycling News that since returning to the team in December, he has reviewed in detail the way Ineos Grenadiers works, with the goal of winning another Grand Tour, even if it takes several years.

"Our owners are committed to developing their own talent. We're not going to buy top athletes, we're going to develop them ourselves. That's more exciting for the coaches. It's more exciting for the riders. We need to invest and work with young talent to win Grand Tours again," Drewer, who spent a few days at the Tour de France, told Cycling News.

Ineos has already selected its roster for 2025, and Drewer is working on 2026 and beyond as part of a long-term development and improvement project. 18-year-old Dane Peter Oxenberg is among several new young riders Ineos has acquired for 2025. He is one of the first two.

"I'm not thinking about next year, I'm thinking about what the sport needs in 2030. If we think about next year, everybody else will be ahead of us. So we're certainly trying to be a little bit more creative and reimagine," he explained.

The development team is part of a project Ineos is undertaking to sign and develop talented young players between the ages of 16 and 23 to create a pathway to a World Tour team. Ineos has yet to decide whether to establish a continental team and have riders race with a WorldTour team or work with a satellite team.

Drewer confirmed that there are currently no definite plans to create a women's team and that the focus is on the men's development program and the rejuvenation of the World Tour.

"We already have a small development program called "Ascent" and we intend to expand it," Drower explained.

"The traditional path to becoming a World Tour cyclist has changed. It all starts at a young age. We are thinking deeply about how to get it right. Rider development will be a big part of the team in the future. We want young British talent, and any young talent, to see what we are doing and want to grow with us."

Drawer highlighted the tension between the two in a Netflix Tour de France documentary, and despite Cummings being left at home from this year's race, Tom Pidcock and race director Steve Cummings have been the next generation of Ineos Grenadiers insisted that they would play an important role.

Pidcock denied Netflix's "Tour de France" episode: meanwhile, team CEO John Alert said, "Steve is working on the Tour.

Tom Pidcock is seen as an important part of the team's Grand Tour group, along with Carlos Rodriguez and Egan Bernal.

"Tom Pidcock is under contract with us until the end of 27 years. He is a generational talent," said Drewer.

"Tom's long-term desire would be to fight for GC, and I think he wants that too. We look forward to supporting him in that mission. He definitely has an important role on the team in the long-term future."

Geraint Thomas will retire after 2025, but the average age of the team will drop next season, even with the 38-year-old Welshman on the roster.

A long-term young rider development strategy may keep Ineos Grenadiers from winning the Tour de France for two or three years, but they are rebuilding while embracing it.

"It's called balance, but look at Carlos Rodriguez in this Tour. He is better than last year and will be even stronger in this race," said Drewer, who is optimistic about the near future and what the young Spaniard can achieve in this year's Tour de France.

"Egan is still climbing too. He's already hitting his 2019 numbers. Egan's battle to get back to his best is far from over.

"I know how challenging Tadei Pogachar and Jonas Vingegaard are. But Tom, Egan, and Carlos are already out of here. Peter Oxenberg is the first of them, and there will be others."

Drower confirmed that Steve Cummings has taken on a senior management role with the team, despite being home from this year's Tour de France.

"Of course," Drower stated.

"Steve's role is racing director, which is much more important than being in the race. Zach Dempster is the "lead DS" of the Tour right now, but Steve and I are already working on a strategic project to recruit athletes for 2026."

"Steve's role is to be a leader in the Tour," Drewer said.

He is the racing director because of his deep expertise and wisdom about bike racing. That is something I do not have. He is an important part of the senior team, along with head coach Xavier Arteche, who mentors staff members such as Carlos Rodriguez and Egan Bernal. Steve continues to bring a lot of expertise to those projects, and that's for the future. It's not just about the here and now."

Drewer is working to change the culture and mindset of teams at all levels of Ineos.

"I think we are caught between what used to be and where we are trying to get to," he explained.

"The basis here is to have good riders who are really hungry for success and the best coaches around them, and the rest can be wrapped up with other support.

"We have spent a lot of time fundamentally rethinking our identity. We have brought in a lot of outside experts who don't know our sport to help us improve. I think we've been pretty honest about what we can do better. And I think that's a natural part of our future excellence.

"I want to feel like the players are willing to take risks, and I want them to take risks.

"We may not always get the greatest results, but I'd rather celebrate the challenge and the process than not take risks. I'm going to keep creating opportunities for everyone to win big races."

"By doing that, we hope that there will be people who want to join the team and especially people who want to stay on the team because they see the opportunities that are out there for them. That's the future of the Ineos Grenadiers team."