Leopard Pro Cycling have added two new riders to its Continental roster for 2021. Three-time Luxembourg junior national champion Mats Wenzel was confirmed today to begin his U23 career with the team, joining 19-year-old newcomer Louis Coqueret of France.
Leopard recently saw two riders depart for WorldTour programmes, 21-year-old Mauro Schmid of Switzerland moved to Qhubeka Assos and 20-year-old Dane Mattias Skjelmose Jensen headed to Trek-Segafredo.
The reigning title holder for juniors in the time trial as well as cyclo-cross, Wenzel just turned 18 this past weekend. He also holds a gold medal for juniors in cross-country. On the road, he was selected for the World Championships in Yorkshire at just 16 years of age, where he crossed the line in 42nd. This past year he was 10th overall at the Grand Prix Rüebliland.
“We already followed Mats for a while now, as he always showed great potential. In the short season he had this year, he showed a good improvement and therefore we wanted to add him to our 2021 team,” said Team Manager Markus Zingen in a team statement. “He is of course still very young, even for our team, so we don’t want to rush his development."
Coqueret rode as a junior for two seasons with Van Rysel-AG2R La Mondiale team, where he was seventh at the GP Bob Jungels, fourth overall and a stage win at the Ain Bugey Valromey Tour, and fifth at the French ITT national championships. In his first under-23 season in 2020, he was sixth in the French U23 time trial nationals.
“By signing Louis, we have strengthened our 2021 team with a very versatile rider. In 2021, Louis will for sure show his capabilities in our team and we are looking forward to obtain great results together as a team,” Zingen added.
Leopard plans to start the 2021 season in Turkey for the Tour of Antalya, then travel to Croatia for the Trofej Umag, Trofej Poreč and Istrian Spring Trophy.
Two additions to the roster are expected in the coming days to give them 12 riders. The current lineup for Leopard Pro Cycling in 2021: Loïc Bettendorff, Colin Heiderscheid, Arthur Kluckers, Cedric Pries, Mats Wenzel from Luxembourg, Patrick Haller and Miguel Heidemann from Germany, Jan Maas from the Netherlands, Filip Maciejuk from Poland, and Louis Coqueret from France.
