That didn’t take long! Just weeks after performance engineer Dan Bigham left Ineos Grenadiers, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has hired him as well as Jonny Wale to work for them.
Just before the Olympics, he announced he would be leaving the team. Bigham, 32, a key member of the Ineos Grenadiers outfit, excelled as a performance engineer, combining his exceptional time-trialing skills with innovative aerodynamic approaches. He joined the team in 2022 in the R&D department, filling an important role in the long-standing British team.
Not satisfied with support for Olympics
But he wasn’t happy with the treatment he received when preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“It’s not particularly a me versus Scott [Drawer, the team’s performance director] thing at all,” Bigham said in an interview with the Telegraph. “It’s more about how I see performance. How I want to approach performance isn’t aligned with how Ineos wanted to do it. I wanted more autonomy and the ability to act on my ideas, which I wasn’t really getting at Ineos.”
When asked if the situation resembled that of British Cycling a few years ago, Bigham agreed. “I feel that a lot of performance is being left on the table, which frustrates me because it’s clear 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.”
Off to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
The German team announced the news on Instagram. “A warm welcome! Dan Bigham has been appointed to our newly created position of head of engineering and will be responsible for our new engineering unit. Dan is a world hour record holder, world champion, Olympic silver medallist – and a Master of Engineering,” the post read. “Jonny Wale joins Dan as technical performance manager. Jonny has worked with Dan on many projects. Including the HUUB Wattbike track team and the 2022 Double World Hour Record attempts.”
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe uses Specialized bikes. So, it will be interesting to see what changes and modifications to things like Primož Roglič’s TT position may occur.
“For the past decade, I have balanced the life of an elite athlete with my passion for advancing the sport of cycling through engineering,” Bigham said in a release. “Having achieved nearly everything I dreamed of on the bike, I am now ready to fully dedicate myself to supporting the next generation of winners. The opportunity ahead of me at Red…
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