Following the announcement that Peter Sagan would leave the team at the end of the season, Bora-Hansgrohe have wasted little time in solidifying the rest of their roster with Jordi Meeus, Martin Laas, and Patrick Gamper all signing contract extensions at the German squad.
Bora-Hansgrohe are in the midst of a major transfer overhaul this summer with Peter Sagan heading for the exit door alongside Erik Baška, Maciej Bodnar, Daniel Oss, Juraj Sagan, Pascal Ackermann, Rüdiger Selig, Andreas Schillinger and Michael Schwarzmann. The team are bringing in several new faces, including Jai Hindley, Sergio Higuita, and Aleksandr Vlasov.
A day after announcing that Sagan and Ackermann would leave, the team announced that Meeus, Laas, and Gamper would re-sign. Meeus only joined the team at the start of this year having graduated through the SEG Racing Academy. The sprinter won a stage in the Tour de Hongrie in May and is in contention to make his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España later this year.
"It's really great to see how much confidence the team has in me and I'd particularly like to thank Ralph Denk for that,” he said in a press release issued by the team.
“I am very happy that I’ll be able to continue my development together with Bora-Hansgrohe. The environment here is ideal for me. One could already see that this year, because otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to manage my step up to the WorldTour so well. I am really keen to improve and I know that Bora-Hansgrohe is the right team for me. We'll see where the journey goes, as a sprinter, one always has lofty goals, but I'm still young and I'll be taking it one step at a time."
Laas, 27, joined the team last year, with the fast finisher impressing in several races as a sprinter and lead-out rider. Gamper, 24, like Laas, has added another year to his existing deal having joined at the start of 2020. More of an all-rounder, he has combined a busy stage racing calendar with a programme of one-day Spring Classics this year.
In addition to the news that Patrick Konrad, Matteo Fabbro and Ide Schelling would renew their contracts, Ralph Denk, the team’s manager, was proud to announce the news of another three contract extensions.
"I am very pleased that we have been able to extend our contract with Jordi early on. He has developed exceedingly well in his first year as a professional and has had an important role in lead-outs. However, he has also won races himself. We see a lot of potential in him and are aiming to build him up as a sprinter over the coming years. So he will be racing more often for results as of next season,” Denk said.
“We’d also like to give Patrick Gamper the opportunity to race for results himself. Up until now, he has predominantly been a helper, and he will continue in this role in the future, but not only that. We’re also aiming to support him in taking the reins himself.”
“As for Martin Laas, I can say that he has become a very reliable rider and important support in lead-outs. He will maintain this role and bring his experience to different sprint trains. There will be races in which Martin will also be our sprinter at times, but his focus is predominantly on lead-outs."
