“I feel a real responsibility to get this right”: Former Ineos manager Rod Ellingworth named as new Tour of Britain race director

Rod Ellingworth says he feels a “real responsibility” to make the Tours of Britain the “very best they can be”, after the former Ineos Grenadiers deputy team principal was appointed by British Cycling as the events’ race director, his first role since leaving the British WorldTour squad in November.

Ellingworth’s appointment as the race director of the men’s and women’s Tour of Britain races, announced by British Cycling on Tuesday, sees the 51-year-old replace longstanding organiser Mick Bennett in the role, after the governing body terminated its agreement with Bennett’s SweetSpot – which organised the men’s race and owned the Women’s Tour, and entered voluntary liquidation in January – over an apparent dispute over unpaid rights fees.

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Last month, following a turbulent 2023 which saw the Women’s Tour cancelled and widespread complaints and negativity about the men’s Tour of Britain, British Cycling committed to attempting to deliver both the country’s flagship men’s and women’s stage races as part of its “new long-term vision” for major cycling events in Britain after months of financial uncertainty and doom and gloom.

(Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

At the time, British Cycling said that “positive discussions with partners across all areas of commercial, broadcast, and local delivery have already commenced” with a view to running the men’s Tour of Britain in its usual September calendar slot, while two weeks later a new four-day ‘Tour of Britain Women’ race appeared in the UCI’s schedule for early June.

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And now it appears that Ellingworth’s appointment marks the next phase of British Cycling’s commitment to deliver the events, a project described by one member of the governing body to road.cc last month as a “race against time”.

The 51-year-old’s history with British Cycling dates back over two decades, and he was instrumental in creating the pioneering Academy programme which heralded the emergence of the likes of Mark Cavendish and Geraint Thomas on the world stage.

Ellingworth worked for the federation between 2002 and 2017, serving as team director for Cavendish’s 2011 world road race championships win in Copenhagen, before leaving to fully focus on his longstanding management role at Team Sky, where he supported Thomas on the way to his 2018 Tour de France yellow jersey.

After a brief, ill-fated spell as general manager at Bahrain-McLaren in 2020, Ellingworth returned to the Ineos Grenadiers as deputy team principal, before suddenly resigning from the role in November amid reports of internal tensions and a management overhaul.

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He will now join an experienced team tasked with delivering the Tours of Britain, which includes route director Andy Hawes, alongside Mark Leyland, Paul Knight, and Lucy Jones.

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

“One of my early cycling memories is being at the UCI Road World Championships at Goodwood Circuit in 1982, and that experience lit a fire in me which has continued to burn every day since,” Ellingworth said in a statement on Tuesday.

“I know how valuable and lifechanging the experience and memories of major cycling events can be, and feel incredibly privileged to now have the opportunity to play such a vital role in the future of the Tours of Britain.

“British Cycling has been a huge part of my life and is in many ways like a second family for me. The sport has changed so much since we launched the academy in 2004, but I’m excited by the level of ambition and energy around the events, and want to play my part in protecting and growing them for the next generation.

“This is a new role and a new set of skills for me, but I’ve been encouraged and supported by other Race Directors in the sport. I’ve spent a good portion of my life on the road at the sport’s biggest races, and will be drawing on all of that experience to make the Tours of Britain the very best they can be.

“As the son of an event organiser and the dad of a young boy starting his own journey as a rider, I feel a real responsibility to get this right, but also huge excitement about the start of a new chapter and challenge in the sport.”

> British racing scene is “a real struggle”, says Ineos Grenadiers manager Rod Ellingworth

Last year, Ellingworth described Britain’s flailing domestic grassroots and international racing scene, beset by financial, bureaucratic, and logistical issues in recent years, as a “worry”, despite the continued success of British riders at the highest level.

“You look at British talent at the moment – it's not like there’s no young bike rider coming though, male and female. It’s pretty strong, but the racing is a real struggle,” he said in May.

“I am from clubs who put lots of races on, and I know they struggle to put on races. My dad put on races for years and he stopped because he couldn’t keep up with pressure from authorities, more and more money, and everything else.”

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In a statement, British Cycling’s CEO Jon Dutton welcomed Ellingworth to the new organising team, while echoing the assertion made to road.cc last month that the races remain in a precarious financial position and that the governing body is faced with a “race against time” to deliver them.

“We’re delighted to welcome Rod, Andy, Mark, Paul, and Lucy to the team, as we continue to work around the clock to ensure the delivery of our Tour of Britain events this year,” Dutton said.

(Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

“Rod returns to British Cycling with an enormous amount of knowledge and experience, and I know that he is fiercely passionate about helping the races to grow and succeed in the future. We’re looking forward to supporting his development in the role, as part of our commitment to providing opportunities for British talent through our flagship events.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work our team has done in a short space of time to progress plans for the events, and we look forward to sharing further details of the Tour of Britain Women route over the coming weeks. It continues to be a real race against time, but we remain excited by the opportunity and overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and support being shown towards the events.”

British Cycling also confirmed that work is continuing to finalise the route details for the Tour of Britain Women, and that a further update will be issued over the coming weeks.