Luke Lowe is ending his career with Ineos Grenadiers and joining Decathlon AG2R as sports director. He will begin his new position on November 1 and will lead Decathlon AG2R's Classics group.

The Welshman's last race was at the E3 Saxo Classic in late March, where he suffered a concussion and was unable to participate in the rest of the Classic campaign.

In May, Lowe announced his retirement at the end of the season, despite having signed a two-year contract extension last winter; he spent his 13-year career with Ineos (formerly Team Sky), where he was a member of the team's team of four, including the last two years with the team.

“I took some time to think about my future and see what the new chapter would look like,” Lowe said in a statement released by his new team. [The Decathlon AG2R La Mondial project has made great strides this year, especially in terms of performance, and above all, I was attracted to the future projects and the long-term vision. We want to use our experience from the years we spent at the highest level to support our athletes, especially in the Classics.

“Another part of this new project is the ambition for the team to become more international. Of course, France has great talent, but this approach will also make the team a very attractive option for English-speaking players and international players who want to join the team.”

This surprise move to Decathlon was first reported by Daniel Benson on his Substack page.

Lowe recently cast a critical eye on Ineos' predicament in a podcast episode with teammate Geraint Thomas.

“There are some questions about recruitment. We don't have the best players in the world, we don't have the second best."

”We don't have the best players in the world, we don't have the second best.

As a domestique, Lowe competed in the Tour de France eight times, helping Chris Froome, Thomas, and Egan Bernal win the overall. He also had top 10 finishes in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, and in 2012, as a neo-pro, he won a stage at the Tour of Britain.

Lowe joined the Decathlon set-up, which has undergone significant changes over the past year.

The team moved Ben O'Connor to Jayco Alura during the off-season, and acquired Stefan Bissegger and new junior time trial world champion Paul Seixas.

“Meeting Luke Rowe happened naturally,” said Dominique Seriez, CEO of Decathlon AG2R.

“Luke is at the heart of the Classics group and will be involved in various training camps and specific preparations to achieve these goals. This is a major step forward in structuring our sports department and supporting young riders towards the highest level.”