Hayter disappointed over missing out on Grand Tour in his program with new team Soudal Quick-Step: "A bit like at INEOS"

Ethan Hayter made the move to Soudal Quick-Step this past winter. In doing so, the Brit left behind INEOS Grenadiers, the team where he began his professional career. At the British team, opportunities for the 26-year-old all-rounder had become increasingly scarce, and the Belgian formation offered him the way out that he needed. He was supposed to get a better program, but even at his new team, there is a hitch in the plan.

It was a difficult decision to leave INEOS Grenadiers, as he told IDLProCycling.com earlier this month. "The last two seasons, I won less, which also had to do with planning. I sometimes did too much, and it's also a snowball effect; if you win less, you get fewer opportunities because you win less." More opportunities, more wins: it sounds logical.

At Soudal Quick-Step, he will indeed get more opportunities, and in bigger races. The focus will mainly be on the hilly classics. "I will do some climbing classics like the Flèche Brabançonne and the Amstel Gold Race," he tells Sporza. "With the Tour of Oman, Catalunya, the Basque Country, and Romandie, I will ride stage races where there are some opportunities for me to win stages."

So Hayter is fully focused on stage wins, whether in stage races or one-day races. But something is missing in his program. The Brit would like to ride a Grand Tour, but he has yet to get that opportunity. "I wouldn’t call it a problem, but it is a bit like at INEOS," he says with some sadness. "I was thinking perhaps of the Giro, but Landa and Magnier are the leaders there. I would love to help them, but for the team, it is better for me to ride Catalunya, the Basque Country, and Romandie."

Read more below the photo!

Hayter's time at INEOS ended with some disappointment

No Tour, no Giro, but the Vuelta? "No problem riding with Tim"

No Giro, it is. And also no Tour, because the roster there is already full, with not only team leader Remco Evenepoel but also Tim Merlier. The European champion is returning to La Grande Boucle, and that means there is no room for Hayter. "But I would have no problem riding the Vuelta with Tim. I don’t think there are sprints where we would have to compete against each other. In flat sprints, I could be a good lead-out. In stages where the sprinters have been dropped, I would have my own chances."

"I have only experienced 10 days of a Grand Tour in my career (the 2022 Vuelta, ed.). Due to a positive COVID test, I had to leave early then. It would be great to ride another Grand Tour this year." While Soudal Quick-Step has not yet finalized the roster for the Tour and Giro, it is clear that Hayter will not be part of those races. The Vuelta is still a long way off, and the team has not yet made any statements about it. Hayter could still travel to Spain.

Besides a lack of grand tours, the absence of the cobbled classics in his program is also notable. Considering his rider profile, races like the Tour of Flanders should suit him. "I have already ridden the Tour of Flanders and enjoyed it immensely then. Long races like monuments are my thing. I have a high fatigue resistance and that helps with races that are over six hours long. But for the team it is more important that I win a stage in a WorldTour stage race than that I finish in the top 10 or 20 of the Tour of Flanders."

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