Australian set to leave Orica-GreenEdge after four seasons
Race leader Leigh Howard on the podium (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Cyclingnews understands that Leigh Howard is on the verge of signing with the IAM Cycling team for 2016. Howard is currently at Orica GreenEdge but his contract ends this year.
Although IAM Cycling would not officially confirm the news, their director sportif, Rik Verbrugge, did say that a deal was on the verge of completion.
"We're in a transition year so we're focusing on young riders, so ones that can perhaps help Matteo Pelucchi, like Leigh Howard, with the leadout and then some young riders. There probably won't be a signing of a major signing," Verbrugge told Cyclingnews.
Two riders how had been linked with IAM in recent weeks were Simon Clarke and Bryan Coquard. Verbrugge ruled them both out.
"We're not confirming anything at the moment. I can tell you that Simon Clarke isn't coming to us. There was some contact but that's it," he said.
"There was a proposal with Bryan but I think he's staying where he is. We will be confirming riders in the next week or so."
IAM Cycling have already confirmed that Vegard Stake Laengen (Team Joker) will join the team for next year. Mathias Frank, Matthias Brändle, Jonas Van Genechten, and Dries Devenyns have all signed one-year contract extensions, although Sylvain Chavanel, Jerome Pineau, Sébastien Reichenbach, and Thomas Degand are set to leave.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
