# Ian Stannard

Ian Dexter Stannard (born 25 May 1987) is a British former professional track and road racing cyclist, who rode professionally in 2006 and from 2008 to 2020 for the Van Vliet–EBH Advocaten, Landbouwkrediet–Tönissteiner, ISD and Ineos Grenadiers teams, before retiring after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. He now works as a directeur sportif for UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers, having previously held the same role for UCI Continental team Trinity Racing.
During his professional career, Stannard took seven victories including two consecutive wins in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad one-day race (2014 and 2015), two stage victories at the Tour of Britain (2016 and 2018), and the 2012 British National Road Race Championships. As a domestique, Stannard was also a part of multiple Grand Tour general classification successes by Chris Froome.

## Career
### Early career

Born in Chelmsford, Stannard initially focused on the road and track, winning a gold medal in the time trial at the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games, and a gold in the Under-23 Team Pursuit at the 2006 UEC European Track Championships, alongside future Sky teammate Geraint Thomas. Stannard made his professional road debut in August 2007 joining T-Mobile Team as a trainee. He rode for Landbouwkrediet–Tönissteiner in 2008 and came third overall in the Tour of Britain riding for the Great Britain team. In 2009 he joined the new ISD team, and was selected to ride the Giro d'Italia, aged just 21. Stannard finished 160th at the Giro.

### Team Sky (2010–2020)
#### 2010–2011

Stannard joined the new British Pro Tour team Team Sky on an initial two-year contract for the start of the 2010 season, and focused more on the Classics and one day races. He took a third place in freezing conditions in Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, and completed a Team Sky 1–2–3 at the British National Road Race Championships behind teammates Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh.
Stannard almost took victory in the 2011 Gent–Wevelgem, after breaking away on the final climb, the Monteberg [nl]. He was part of a move with Peter Sagan, Maciej Bodnar (both from Liquigas–Cannondale) and Sylvain Chavanel (Quick-Step) with 34 kilometres (21 miles) to cover until the finish. The quartet kept clear of the chasing peloton until Stannard broke free and crossed the flamme rouge alone. He was passed by the field with some 500 metres (1,600 ft) to go, as Tom Boonen sprinted to victory. He obtained his first professional win at the Tour of Austria, winning stage 5 of the race, where he got the better of a group of five escapees in the sprint. Stannard was part of the Great Britain team that helped Mark Cavendish win the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, with a vital pull in the closing stages to keep Cavendish towards the front of the peloton. Stannard also featured in a 14-rider lead group at the end of season Paris–Tours race, finishing fourth. One of the hardest working domestiques in the peloton, Stannard rode a total of 14,713 kilometres (9,142 miles) during 93 race days in 2011.

#### 2012

In 2012, Stannard won the London Nocturne by lapping the field. He also won the British National Road Race Championships, winning ahead of Sky teammate Alex Dowsett. Stannard was selected as part of the Great Britain team for the Olympic road race, alongside David Millar, Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish. With the team aiming to lead Cavendish to a sprint victory on The Mall, and despite the best efforts of Stannard, Team GB were unable to pull back a large breakaway group on the run in to London, with the gold medal going to Alexander Vinokourov. Stannard again represented Britain at the UCI World Road Race Championships and was active in a breakaway with Andrew Talansky on the penultimate lap, eventually finishing in the main group.

#### 2013

In freezing conditions at March's Milan–San Remo, Stannard initially rode at the front of the race in support of Geraint Thomas, but attacked with Sylvain Chavanel after Thomas crashed. Stannard led over the Poggio di San Remo, only to be caught on the descent by a chase group of five riders. Stannard made a final move in the final 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) but was chased down by Peter Sagan, and he finished sixth in the sprint. He took top-ten overall finishes at Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Bayern Rundfahrt, finishing ninth and eighth respectively, before taking a second-place finish at the British National Road Race Championships in Glasgow, being outsprinted by Mark Cavendish at the finish. Stannard was selected to ride the Tour de France for the first time, and played a key role as a domestique for Chris Froome, who went on to win the race overall. Following the Tour de France, Stannard took two second-place stage finishes at the Eneco Tour, and the Tour of Britain – the latter result coming in an individual time trial – with a seventh-place overall finish in the Tour of Britain.

#### 2014

Stannard began 2014 in good form, finishing fourth overall in the Tour of Qatar in February. Stannard won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – the opening race of the Flanders Classics – after he out-sprinted his breakaway companion Greg Van Avermaet, thereby becoming the first British rider to win the race. In Gent–Wevelgem, Stannard crashed heavily into a roadside ditch and was taken to hospital. He was diagnosed with fractured vertebrae, ruling him out of the rest of the classics season. Stannard made his comeback to the road, riding for the English team in the men's road race event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. A clearly uncomfortable Stannard withdrew early on in the race, which took place in treacherous rainy conditions – only 12 riders finished out of 140 starters – and which was eventually won by his Team Sky teammate Geraint Thomas. Stannard attempted another comeback, riding for Team Sky in the RideLondon–Surrey Classic. Stannard was noted for his hard work in successfully placing teammate Ben Swift in the eventually victorious breakaway group. Stannard was selected to ride the Tour of Britain, but broke his wrist in a crash on the first stage, putting an end to an injury plagued season.

#### 2015

Stannard recovered from his injuries for the start of the 2015 season, again placing fourth in February's Tour of Qatar. At the end of the month, Stannard won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, defending his 2014 title – the first time a male rider had won consecutive editions since Peter Van Petegem in 1997 and 1998. He defeated Niki Terpstra in a two-man sprint, after spending the final 40 kilometres (25 miles) in a four-man group with a Etixx–Quick-Step triumvirate of Terpstra, Tom Boonen and Stijn Vandenbergh. He also fended off attacks by Boonen and Terpstra in the closing stages of the race. He was also part of the Team Sky selection that won the team time trial at the Tour de Romandie, and he finished third in the British National Road Race Championships.

#### 2016

In an interview in January, Stannard confirmed that he would not compete in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad or Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne – having previously appeared in the opening double header of the Belgian classics season every year since 2009 and forgoing the opportunity to win the Omloop for the third year running – in order to focus on peaking for the Flemish Cycling Week. He also explained that his preparation for the spring classics would include debut appearances at the Volta ao Algarve and Paris–Nice. Stannard finished third at E3 Harelbeke, leading a small group across the line behind his victorious teammate Michał Kwiatkowski and Peter Sagan, who had broken away from the group earlier. He also finished on the podium at Paris–Roubaix, where he finished third in a sprint from a five-man group which had formed when Stannard animated the race with an attack on the cobbled section at Camphin-en-Pévèle. Stannard was part of the Tour de France-winning team, regarded as Sky's key domestique on flat stages, and he ultimately took a victory at September's Tour of Britain, following a 40-kilometre (25-mile) solo attack on the third stage.

#### Post-2016

Stannard started his 2017 season with a block of racing in Australia, which culminated in a stage victory on the final day of the Herald Sun Tour, attacking inside the final kilometre. Having signed a three-year contract extension earlier in the season, Stannard also played a part as a domestique in the Vuelta a España success for Chris Froome and Team Sky. In 2018, Stannard took a second career stage victory at the Tour of Britain, when he won the penultimate stage of the race from a solo move at around 16 kilometres (9.9 miles) remaining. He recorded his first podium finish at the British National Road Race Championships since 2015 in 2019, when he finished second behind teammate Ben Swift, having "softened up the others" for Swift.

### Retirement, directeur sportif

Following the COVID-19 pandemic-effected 2020 season, Stannard announced his retirement from competition that November after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. In February 2021, Stannard joined UCI Continental team Trinity Racing as a directeur sportif, remaining with the team until the end of the 2022 season, when he joined his former team – since renamed as the Ineos Grenadiers – in a similar role.

## Major results
### Road

Source:

#### 2004

    1st Time trial, Commonwealth Youth Games
    National Junior Championships
       1st Time trial
       3rd Road race
    2nd Paris–Roubaix Juniors

#### 2005

    1st Overall Tour du Pays de Vaud
       1st Stage 3 (ITT)

#### 2007

    1st Clayton Velo Spring Classic
    1st Eddie Soens
    1st Milano–Busseto
    4th Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23

#### 2008

    3rd Overall Tour of Britain

#### 2009

    1st Stage 1b (TTT) Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali

#### 2010

    1st Stage 1 (TTT) Tour of Qatar
    3rd Road race, National Championships
    3rd Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne

#### 2011 (1 pro win)

    1st Stage 5 Tour of Austria
    4th Road race, National Championships
    4th Paris–Tours

#### 2012 (1)

    1st Road race, National Championships
    1st London Nocturne

#### 2013

    2nd Road race, National Championships
    6th Milan–San Remo
    7th Overall Tour of Britain
    8th Overall Bayern Rundfahrt
    9th Dwars door Vlaanderen

#### 2014 (1)

    1st Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
    4th Overall Tour of Qatar

#### 2015 (1)

    1st Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
    1st Stage 1 (TTT) Tour de Romandie
    3rd Road race, National Championships
    4th Overall Tour of Qatar

#### 2016 (1)

    1st Stage 3 Tour of Britain
    3rd E3 Harelbeke
    3rd Paris–Roubaix

#### 2017 (1)

    1st Stage 4 Herald Sun Tour

#### 2018 (1)

    1st Stage 7 Tour of Britain

#### 2019

    2nd Road race, National Championships

#### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Giro d'Italia | 160 | — | — | 132 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tour de France | — | — | — | — | 135 | — | 128 | 161 | — | — | — |
| / Vuelta a España | — | DNF | 128 | 111 | — | — | — | — | 148 | — | 106 |

#### Classics results timeline

| Monument | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Milan–San Remo | — | DNF | DNF | 102 | DNF | 6 | — | DNF | 57 | 92 | 127 | — | — |
| Tour of Flanders | 72 | — | 83 | 50 | 57 | 103 | — | 57 | 32 | 64 | DNF | 76 | — |
| Paris–Roubaix | 88 | — | OTL | 36 | 51 | 51 | — | 47 | 3 | 72 | DNF | 82 | NH |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career |
| Giro di Lombardia | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career | Did not contest during his career |
| Classic | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | — | 142 | 103 | 27 | 26 | 34 | 1 | 1 | — | 78 | — | 26 | 49 |
| Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne | — | 91 | 3 | 70 | 80 | NH | 44 | 67 | — | 14 | — | 45 | 62 |
| E3 Harelbeke | — | — | 47 | — | 48 | 23 | DNF | 26 | 3 | 56 | — | 90 | NH |
| Gent–Wevelgem | 161 | — | — | 35 | 70 | 43 | DNF | DNF | — | 21 | 90 | 74 | — |
| Dwars door Vlaanderen | — | — | 94 | 25 | — | 9 | 15 | — | — | — | 79 | — | NH |
| Paris–Tours | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | 140 | — | — | — | — |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |
| OTL | Outside time limit |
| NH | Not held |

### Track
#### 2004

    Commonwealth Youth Games
       3rd Individual pursuit
       3rd Scratch

#### 2005

    1st Team pursuit, UEC European Junior Championships
    1st Points race, National Junior Championships
    2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Junior Championships

#### 2006

    1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
    1st UIV Cup, Stuttgart (with Andy Tennant)
    National Championships
       2nd Team pursuit
       3rd Scratch
    3rd Team pursuit, UCI World Cup Classics, Sydney