The Katusha-Alpecin squad will have its first training camp next month when all 26 riders of the final 2018 roster will assemble in Mallorca from December 3 to 15. The team will hold its formal presentation on December 9.
Marcel Kittel will join the squad for the camp, meeting up with fellow German Tony Martin, who also moved across from Patrick Lefevere's Quick-Step team one year earlier.
Other new recruits include Ian Boswell (Team Sky), Alex Dowsett (Movistar), Nathan Haas (Dimension Data), and neo-pros Willie Smit and Steff Cras.
The team said goodbye to Alexander Kristoff and fellow Norwegian Sven Erik Bystrom, who went to UAE Team Emirates, Michael Morkov (Quick-Step Floors), Rein Taaramae (Direct Energie), Matvey Mamykin (Burgos BH), and Angel Vicioso, who retired. Only Alberto Losada's 2018 team remains unknown.
Katusha Alpecin for 2018: Maxim Belkov, Jenthe Biermans, Ian Boswell, Steff Cras, Alex Dowsett, Matteo Fabbro, José Gonçalves, Nathan Haas, Marco Haller, Reto Hollenstein, Robert Kišerlovski, Marcel Kittel, Pavel Kochetkov, Viacheslav Kuznetsov, Maurits Lammertink, Tiago Machado, Tony Martin, Marco Mathis, Baptiste Planckaert, Nils Politt, Jhonatan Restrepo, Simon Špilak, Mads Würtz Schmidt, Willie Smit, Rick Zabel, Ilnur Zakarin.
2018 Vuelta a Espana route to be revealed in January
The full route for the 2018 Vuelta a Espana will be unveiled on January 13 at a presentation in the Auditorium Felipe VI, in Estepona in Málaga. The event will be televised live by Teledeporte from 11:30 a.m.
Málaga will host the first stage of the Vuelta a Espana next year with a 10km time trial on August 25. Race director Javier Guillén also revealed last month that the organisation expects to have between eight and 10 summit stage finishes.
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Other details have leaked out, including the possible use of the brutal ascent of Monte Oiz in the Basque region.
'Fast Freddie' Rodriguez joins forces with rebranded Team California
Four-time US pro road race champion “Fast Freddie” Rodriguez has partnered with Echelon Racing to rebrand the development program as Team California.
The USA Cycling domestic elite team, which raced as Storck-CCN in 2017, will focus on the USA Cycling Pro Road Tour and UCI 1.2 and 2.2 UCI America’s Road Tour events, while also giving back to the community through the Fast Freddie Foundation and with competitive gran fondo-style races, including a partnership with Haute Route North America.
“With a growing trend of longer endurance events, like Haute Route, the riders will be exposed to big days on the bike to prepare them for [WorldTour] level events,” Rodriguez said.
“I’m very excited to help launch Team California with the goal of not only teaching young riders how to reach their full potential but also to make them understand the beauty of giving back.”
The team will continue to compete on Storck bikes – the Fascinario F.3 Road and Aero 2 TT platforms – along with Full Speed Ahead and Vision Components.
“After three years of growth and a lot of time on the learning curve, the partnership with Freddie and the Foundation just feels right,” said team manager AJ Kennedy. “We are looking to support athletes that represent the best in cycling and sportsmanship. Combine that with Fast Freddie’s involvement, we are working to make this one of the top programs in the US.”
