News: New teams for Bardet & Van Avermaet

A busy day on Monday for transfer news as Romain Bardet and Greg Avermaet sign for new teams for 2021

News: New teams for Bardet & Van Avermaet

Bardet to Sunweb
Climber Romain Bardet has tasted success at the most prestigious race in the world – the Tour de France – where he has won three stages, finished both second and third on GC alongside two sixth place finishes, and has claimed the famous polka dot jersey as King of the Mountains.

Despite such palmarès, Bardet can’t be pigeonholed as only a pure climber; the Frenchman has also excelled in challenging one-day races. Most notably, his silver medal at the World Championships in Innsbruck, third place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and second place in brutal conditions at Strade Bianche highlight his versatility and tactical awareness to compete on a variety of terrain.

Still only 29-years-old, Bardet has been a professional since 2012 and brings a wealth of experience of competing at the highest level in the biggest races to the team’s blossoming pool of promising riders.

Romain Bardet: “I am very happy to have signed for Team Sunweb. When considering options outside my current team, it was really important for me to find a team that works progressively, involving the latest technology in equipment and other domains.

I also wanted a team with a clear vision on the sport and one that is a member of MPCC. At Team Sunweb I have the opportunity to start with no specific expectations or a specific race to target. Instead we will focus first on the basics and the fundamentals, working hard and with dedication to improve on all different areas as an athlete – after this we will look to race schedules and goals.

This opportunity comes at the right moment in my career and I am very motivated to start working with the team and its group of very promising riders. I want to express my thanks to my current team AG2R La Mondiale, who helped me to develop until now, my time with them will always have a special place in my memories.”

Sunweb’s Iwan Spekenbrink: “We are very excited that Romain joins the team. He is a great rider who brings many possibilities, versatile qualities and a very respective palmarès. Our talks together have shown that he is very dedicated to give it his all and get the most out of his potential, and he is eager for our specialists to work with him to focus on improvements so that he can reach that.

“He will be a great addition for the team in a multitude of races; with him we strengthen our block of current options in the finales and tactically have multiple scenarios to try to win. It will be hard work, with some classics in the first part of the season and then we’ll assess and plan the next block, including deciding which grand tour to tackle, with which goals.
“He comes from a respectable, professional environment at AG2R La Mondiale, who have done a very good job with Romain and we hope and believe to keep building on that.”

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Olympic Champion Greg Van Avermaet to Ag2R AG2R LA MONDIALE
Belgian Greg Van Avermaet, 35, reigning Olympic Champion, and the Swiss Michaël Schär, 33, both currently riding for the CCC team, have signed for three years with the AG2R LA MONDIALE team, which will be in 2021 the AG2R CITROËN Team.

Greg Van Avermaet: “I am happy and motivated to start a new adventure. I have just spent ten beautiful years in the structures of Jim Ochowicz and I am embarking on a new challenge. I am happy that Vincent Lavenu has shown such confidence in me, and I intend to give my best in order to achieve great results. The prospect of working with Oliver Naesen, with the goal of winning classics, is particularly exciting. My goal is always the same: to win races like the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix, stages of the Tour de France or wear the yellow jersey for as long as possible.”

Michael Schar: “I’m very excited to begin writing a new chapter in my career. I was won over by the sports project presented by Vincent Lavenu, who is a true cycling enthusiast. I live in the same village as Mathias Frank and he has always talked to me about the AG2R LA MONDIALE team in glowing terms. We can achieve good performances, especially in the classics with the duo Greg Van Avermaet, with whom I have been riding since 2011, and Oliver Naesen.I will be very happy to help them achieve big goals.”

AG2R’s Vincent Lavenu: “It is a great satisfaction to have secured the signings of Greg Van Avermaet and Michaël Schär. Greg is a great champion, showing incredible consistency at the highest level. His experience, his rigor, his hard work will be important in our development project. He will be an example for all our young riders. His bond with his friend Oliver Naesen, with whom he sometimes trains with, will be an added advantage. Michaël is one of the best teammates in the world. He will be invaluable in protecting our leaders, whether in stage races or in the classics. He is also a very good time trialist. He will be a pilot fish whose experience will contribute a great deal.”