German under-23 national road race champion joins the team from January 2022

Photo by Plomi

The INEOS Grenadiers are delighted to confirm the signing of the German under 23 national road race champion Kim Heiduk.

Heiduk, 21, has spent three years with Team Lotto – Kern Hause and enjoyed some impressive results across 2021, catching the eye of the team.
The neo-pro has signed a two-year deal with the team and can’t wait to get started and continue his development as a rider.
He said: “As soon as I heard about INEOS’ interest, I knew it was the right team for me. It was an incredible feeling. I’m delighted to become a Grenadier.
“I’m a very disciplined rider and I’m focused on what I need to improve over the next two years. I believe I can be good in the Classics and I’ve had a lot of fun in those races. I see myself as a pretty good sprinter but I don’t know where I’ll be with the pros. It’s not very easy to win a race solo, so it’s good to have a sprint!
“I can’t wait to experience lots of different races next year. It will be all about discovery and development.”

INEOS Grenadiers Deputy Team Principal Rod Ellingworth said: “Kim had an impressive start to 2021 and all of our interactions with him have been extremely positive. He’s determined to learn and improve and he’s starting his professional career from a great place. We’re excited to see him push on next year and adapt to life as a Grenadier.”
Heiduk raced to the under 23 German road race title in May and enjoyed further impressive results in the opening part of the season, at the Tour of Rhodes, Tour d’eure-et-Loir and Orlen Nations Grand Prix.
“The first part of my year was very good,” explained Kim. “In all of my races, I feel that I had good results or did a good job for the team. But the second half has been tough – I crashed in Tour de l’Avenir and after a few days off, I got back into racing at the Deutschland Tour, but the legs weren’t quite there as I hoped. I then had a training accident with a car and a week before the worlds the doctor said my shoulder was still not ready to compete. Mentally, that was quite hard, but I’ve put that behind me now and am enjoying my end to the season.”
Before signing his deal, Heiduk went for a training ride with the Grenadiers Development Sports Director Christian Knees in their native Germany. The pair have struck up a good relationship which has helped Kim integrate into the team.
“The first ride with Christian was great and we spoke a lot. He lives a few hours away from me so we’ve not been able to ride together much since but we’ve spoken a lot – we have contact nearly every day. I feel really comfortable and have nothing but good feelings about joining the team.”
Heiduk is also very thankful to Lotto – Kern Hause for their support over the last three years. “I was with the team for three seasons and I was very happy. They helped me feel confident and it was the right team for my development. I now feel the same about this next step and I can’t wait to start.”