Dan Bigum has announced that he will step down from his position as Ineos Grenadier after the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he will represent Great Britain in the Team Pursuit.

The former Hour record holder expressed his dissatisfaction with the team's management structure as he neared stepping down, saying, "The team should be doing better."

Bigum joined Ineos in 2022 as a performance engineer, having previously worked as an aerodynamicist in Formula One and as a consultant for the Danish Cycling Federation and Jumbo Visma. While at Ineos, Bigum briefly held the hour record and helped Filippo Ganna break the hour record in late 2022.

Prior to his appearance at the Paris Olympics, Bigam spoke to the Telegraph and expressed criticism of the team's approach and questioned the management structure after Dave Brailsford's departure, revealing his impending departure from Ineos.

Brailsford officially vacated his position as team president of cycling last winter and had already moved into a position working with Ineos' various sports operations. Late last year, Rod Ellingworth stepped down as deputy team principal and Scott Drewer became the team's performance director.

"It's not specifically me versus Scott at all,"

Bigum said of his decision to leave Ineos.

"It's about how I view performance. How I want to perform is not particularly aligned with how Ineos wants to go about it. I wanted more autonomy and the ability to put my ideas into action. And I did not get that at Ineos.

"I feel we are leaving a lot of accomplishments on the table. Frankly, Ineos is not where we want or need to be, and the difference is not small.

As a rider, Bigham won the team pursuit world title in Great Britain in 2022 and was crowned European individual pursuit champion for the Olympics earlier this year.

When he joined the staff of Ineos in 2022, Bigham was reportedly promised support for his own Olympic ambitions, but was ultimately placed on unpaid leave for three months.

"They always said they would support me for the Olympics, but about February, I said, 'Guys, I'm knocking on the door. What's going on with support? '" said Bigham. [Eventually] Scott came back and said, 'You can take unpaid leave for three months from May until the convention.'

"But at the same time it didn't feel like a huge support. As frustration grew within the team, I decided that if they wanted that kind of approach, among other things, my frustrations, I would resign."

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Bigham added that he would work for Ineos for one more week after the Olympics "to take over," but did not reveal his next role in cycling.

He dismissed the idea that Ineos' investments in other sports, particularly in Manchester United, were hindering his involvement in cycling.

Brailsford's involvement in the cycling team had been greatly reduced since he first joined the team, but Biggum suggested that Ineos lacked a figurehead.

"Dave had a very clear vision, a way to execute it, and a plan in his head. Maybe that was missing to some extent," said Bigham.

"We know what it takes to win, but how do we get there? The process is not clear. Because I felt like I had a very clear idea of the external equation of energy, drag, and the direction in which we should be going.

Bigham's departure and strong public criticism will be another blow to Ineos, whose position has declined over the past few seasons.

The British team won the Tour de France seven times in the eight years between 2012 and 2019, but has been overtaken by teams such as Vimalise a Bike and UAE Team Emirates. Ineos' best finish in this year's Tour was Carlos Rodriguez's seventh.

When Jonathan Narvaez announced his own departure from Ineos on Thursday, he pointed to his new team, UAE Team Emirates, as "the best team in the world."

Meanwhile, an Ineos spokesperson defended the team's support for Bigam's Olympic ambitions: "We are very proud of the support we have given Dan, his access to our performance network, and his freedom, time and encouragement to pursue his personal athletic goals. We are very proud of him.

"Our performance support team is world-class, and while we will miss Dan, the strength and depth of this field with so much talent means that our program will not be affected.

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