Britain’s Ethan Hayter says he wants to “enjoy racing again” as he prepares to debut with his new team.
Hayter, last year’s British road race champion, left Ineos Grenadiers to join Belgian squad Soudal-Quick Step on a two-year contract, a deal announced last August.
“I want to enjoy every race I’m doing again and I firmly believe I can do it in this environment,” said the 26-year-old.
Hayter felt frustrated towards the end of his five years with Ineos, with whom he won several World Tour stages.
Tour de France stage winner Tom Pidcock also recently said he was “in charge of my own destiny,” after he left Ineos, following an apparent fallout, to join the Swiss Q36.5 squad.
“The last couple of years haven’t been as good as I had wanted,” said Hayter.
“As soon as I found out the team [Soudal-Quick Step] was interested in me, I was excited, because it was a special feeling just at the thought of riding for a team with this culture and history.”
Hayter, a strong all-round rider with an ability to sprint, joins a team where Britain’s Mark Cavendish enjoyed much success, and which is home to double Olympic road race and time-trial champion Remco Evenepoel.
“I like sprinting after a hard race and the team signed me to finish off races, so it’s exciting to see the confidence they have in me,” Hayter added.
Hayter is among a number of recent Ineos departures, including team boss Rod Ellingworth and sporting director Steve Cummings, who helped mastermind Pidcock’s 2022 Tour stage win on Alpe d’Huez.
Ineos, seven-time Tour de France winners, said last month they are looking for more sponsorship to help them compete against road cycling’s so-called super-teams – such as Tour winner Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Spending is continuing to rise in a sport once dominated by Ineos, formerly known as Team Sky.
Ineos, now led by John Allert and performance director Scott Drawer, recently signed sprinter Caleb Ewan, who joins Grand Tour lead riders Carlos Rodriguez and 2009 Tour winner Egan Bernal.
“The team will exist into the next cycle [from 2026],” said Allert. “We are very lucky to have owners that are very passionate about this sport.”
Hayter, who has also won two silver Olympic medals on the track, begins his 2025 road season at the Muscat Classic in Oman on Thursday.
