Sir Dave Brailsford appointed Director of Sport at Ineos across whole portfolio

Sir Dave Brailsford has been appointed Director of Sport across the entire portfolio that Ineos sponsors – including not only the cycling team which, as Team Sky and Ineos Grenadiers he has helped guide to 12 Grand Tour titles, but also in sailing, Formula 1 and rugby union, among others.

The move had been widely predicted since September, although in contrast to previous reports, it appears that he will still be principal of the UCI WorldTeam he set up ahead of its racing debut in 2010.

“For me there is no more exciting place to be in global sport right now than at Ineos given the extraordinary range of talents across the different teams,” said Brailsford.

“I am very pleased to have this new opportunity to work together with the other team leaders to look at how we can take advantage of these collective talents and develop a wider performance framework in partnership.

“It goes without saying I am really looking forward to learning more from each of them and their teams and looking at how to put their ideas into wider practice across the INEOS sport family.

“This culture and approach are at the heart of what makes Ineos such a successful business – a federal structure with clear responsibilities but a desire to cross pollinate new thinking and ideas across the group.

“The aim now is to replicate this model across the sports at Ineos. Alongside this new role I will continue to lead Ineos Grenadiers with Rod Ellingworth as my deputy.

“We are already deep into the planning for 2022 and are committed to going all in for next season,” he added.

Ineos, the petrochemicals giant owned by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, bought the Team Sky’s management company Tour Racing Limited from former owners Sky and 21st Century Fox in 2019, with the deal effective from 1 May that year, the eve of the Tour de Yorkshire.

In sailing, the company backs Sir Ben Ainslie’s Ineos Team UK, which earlier this year missed out on the opportunity to challenge Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup when it lost to Italy’s Luna Rossa in the final of the Prada Cup elimination series.

Ineos is also a main sponsor of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, and in July signed a six-year deal to sponsor New Zealand Rugby.

The company, which is keen to share knowledge and expertise across its sports portfolio, also staged the 2019 challenge which saw the Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge become the first person to run a Marathon distance in less than two hours, although the event in Vienna was not conducted under race conditions.

Ratcliffe, who is based in Monaco, personally owns the French Ligue 1 football club, OGC Nice.