Eduard Vorganov (Team Katusha)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jasha Sütterlin (Germany)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marc Soler (Movistar) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Movistar Team announced this week it has extended contracts with two riders, Spaniard Marc Soler and German Jasha Sütterlin for three years.
Soler won the queen stage at the Route du Sud this year, and finished the race as best young rider and second overall. The 23-year-old winner of the 2015 Tour de l'Avenir has yet to race a Grand Tour but the team are developing him as a future contender.
Sütterlin will start his fourth year with Movistar. The 24-year-old was second to Tony Martin at the German national championship time trial, and puts his skills at riding in the wind to good use at the front of the peloton.
Vorganov drops to Continental team after Meldonium positive
Eduard Vorganov, 34, will race the coming season with the Minsk Cycling Club after being sacked by Team Katusha this season following a positive control for Meldonium, according to Biciciclismo.
The Russian was relieved of his provisional suspension after the World Anti-Doping Agency offered amnesty for athletes who tested positive for the newly banned drug in the first months of the year. The agency conceded that traces of the drug could have remained in an athlete's system from before it was on the banned list.
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Vorganov joins his former Katusha teammate Alexander Kuchinsky at the Minsk team, where the latter will be directeur sportif.
Surgery for Enzo Wouters
The 20-year-old's debut with the WorldTour team will be curtailed because of the injury. He will need three weeks of rest before coming back to the bike.
"Of course it's a setback when you have to undergo surgery after the first training camp," Wouters said. "According to the doctor a lot of inflamed tissue was removed and the operation was definitely necessary. 'Patience' will be the key word during my rehabilitation. If I take the necessary rest, I will be back in a few months. Of course I was keen on having a good start of the season, but now that start has to be postponed."
Esteban Chaves voted as the AIJC most media friendly rider
The Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC) elected Orica-BikeExchange's Esteban Chaves as its most media friendly rider in professional cycling.
The award recognises athletes who "make a special effort to work with and respect [the media's] independent role in professional cycling".
Raymond Kerckhoffs, president of the AIJC, praised the Giro d'Italia runner-up and Il Lombardia champion's attitude. "It is good that a talented Grand Tour rider like Esteban Chaves understands the importance of a having good relation with the media," Kerckhoffs said. "This prize is also for his Orica-BikeExchange team who helped develop an excellent working relationship with the media throughout the 2016 season.
"The media is a vital link between the riders, teams, races and the cycling fans around the world. Chaves gained huge admiration for the way he raced aggressively and successfully in 2016 and for his sincerity and honesty when speaking to the media, in moments of both success and defeat. One of the highlights of the 2016 season was when Chaves gracefully accepted defeat at the Giro d'Italia and his parents warmly congratulated Vincenzo Nibali despite the Italian taking the maglia rosa from their son on the final mountain stage."
