Dan Bigham, preparing to compete for Team GB in next week’s track cycling events at Paris 2024, has announced he will leave his role at Ineos Grenadiers after the Olympics. Bigham, 32, has cited his frustrations with the team’s current setup in an interview with the Telegraph and said they are the primary reason for his departure.
“It’s clear as day the team should be doing things a lot better,” Bigham said, criticising Ineos’s approach and suggesting a lack of clarity following Sir Dave Brailsford’s departure.
Bigham joined Ineos Grenadiers as a performance engineer in 2022. His background includes working as an aerodynamicist for Mercedes F1 and setting up his own trade team, Huub-Wattbike. He also played a key role in Denmark’s silver medal win at Tokyo 2020 and briefly held the hour record.
Despite initial enthusiasm, Bigham has grown increasingly disillusioned with Ineos. He expressed a desire for more autonomy and felt his performance ideas were not fully supported. “It’s not particularly a me versus Scott thing at all,” Bigham explained. “It’s more just how I see performance. How I want to do performance is not particularly aligned with how Ineos wanted to go about it.”
He also drew parallels between his current situation and his past experiences with British Cycling, describing both as leaving significant performance potential untapped. Bigham voiced his frustrations with the team, saying, “I feel that a lot of performance we’re leaving on the table and that frustrates me because it’s clear as day we should be doing things a lot better. Let’s be honest, Ineos are not where they want to be, not where they need to be and the gap is not small.”
Bigham’s Olympic ambitions faced setbacks due to a lack of promised support from Ineos. He was eventually offered three months of unpaid leave to prepare for the Games. Reflecting on the situation, he said, “They always said they’d support me for the Olympics and it got to about February and I’m like, ‘Guys, I’ve been knocking on the door. What is the support?’”
Although he acknowledged the leave as a form of support, it did not meet his expectations. “At the same time, it didn’t feel like a great amount of support. And with everything else building as frustration within the team, it just felt if that’s the way they want to approach it then with everything else, my frustrations, I would hand in my notice.”
Bigham plans to work for Ineos for one more week after the Olympics for a handover before departing. He did not reveal his next career move but mentioned he is heading to “pastures new.”
Addressing speculation about Ineos’s broader sporting interests, Bigham denied that investments in other areas, such as Manchester United, had distracted the team. He did, however, note the absence of Brailsford’s clear vision since his involvement scaled back. “Dave had a very clear vision and a way of actioning it and a plan in his head. Maybe to some degree maybe that’s been lacking. We know what it takes to win but how do you get there? What are the processes? That’s the bit lacking clarity.”
Ineos Grenadiers, meanwhile, defended their support for Bigham. A spokesperson stated, “We’re very proud of the support we’ve given Dan, the access we’ve provided to our performance network and the freedom, time and encouragement we’ve given him to pursue a number of his personal athletic goals.”
Bigham’s departure adds to the challenges facing Ineos, who had a disappointing Tour de France, with no stage wins and Carlos Rodriguez finishing seventh, 25 minutes behind eventual winner Tadej Pogacar. Senior rider Geraint Thomas also commented on the challenging new management structure, likening it to a “coalition government.”
