Paul Barratt has been named Director of Performance Support & Innovation at Team Ineos. Barratt has held a similar role at British Cycling for the past two years.

Team Ineos has made several staff changes in recent months, with Rod Ellingworth leaving in April to become team principal for Bahrain Merida, and Fran Miller moving from director of business operations to CEO this June.

Barratt previously worked for the English Institute of Sport (EIS) and has experience in water polo, squash, and bobsledding.

"I am delighted to be joining Team Ineos at a truly exciting time in its history," Barratt said in a press release issued by Team Ineos. [It is] a very dynamic, innovative, and forward-thinking organization. And to join the team at a time when they are re-setting their goals to continue to move forward is something I look forward to the opportunity to be a part of. In the short term, it will be a key priority for me to observe, listen, and learn from the performance team and, ultimately, to propose a long-term strategy that I believe will best leverage science and technology to help the team move further forward."

According to Team Ineos, Barratt will work with longtime head coach Tim Kerrison.

Ineos funded the team's operations after Sky ceased operations last December, and the team won its seventh Tour de France in July thanks to Colombian rider Egan Bernal.

Dave Brailsford welcomed Barratt to the backroom staff.

"Performance support is obviously critical to success on the bike. Performance support is obviously critical to our success on the bike. This is an area where we have excelled as a team in the past and it is clear that other teams are making significant investments for the future. Since the ownership change, we have leveraged Ineos' drive, ambition, and ethos to look at all areas that support our performance system, where we can improve, what we can change, and how we can go faster," Brailsford said. [Paul's appointment is the first step in an important process for our team. I have long admired his approach and innovative thinking during his tenure with British Cycling over the past decade. He is a world-class talent who will guide and lead this important work to further improve the high performance culture and systems of Team Ineos. We are excited about the opportunity to continue to push the boundaries of human performance and to be on the cutting edge of making that happen."

Ineos entered the sport earlier this year after Sky decided to end its partnership with the team earlier than planned. The team strengthened its squad for 2020, signing Giro d'Italia winner Richard Kalapaz and extending the contracts of several riders, including Eddie Dunbar, Owain Doull, and Dylan van Baarle.