Qhubeka Assos have announced the completion of their 2021 roster with the signings of Australia's Robert Power from Team Sunweb and Dutchman Bert-Jan Lindeman from Jumbo-Visma.
The pair bring the squad's size to 27 riders, leaving space for riders from the Qhubeka Continental team to ride certain races as part of the WorldTour squad.
25-year-old Power has been a pro since 2016, riding three seasons for Mitchelton-Scott before joining Team Sunweb for the past two years. He won the Giro della Valle d'Aosta in 2015 and has two wins as a pro at the Prueba Villafranca and Japan Cup, both in 2018. He impressed at this year's Tour Down Under finishing second on stage 3 to Paracombe but failed to make a mark during the rescheduled season.
"For next year, 2021, to be able to join Team Qhubeka Assos is something that really excites me, I'm really looking forward to getting to know the riders and the staff," Power said in a team announcement.
"Between myself as a rider and Qhubeka Assos it's a great fit and I'm really looking forward to working with the partners of the team. To ride on a BMC next year is something that's really awesome; I'm really motivated for this next step and I just want to do my best."
Lindeman has been a pro since 2012, spending two seasons with Vacansoleil and more recently six years at Jumbo-Visma. The 31-year-old has largely worked as a domestique for the Dutch squad, but has four pro wins to his name, including the Tour de l'Ain in 2014 and a stage of the Vuelta a España to the summit finish of La Alpujarra in 2015.
"I'm looking forward to ride in the colours of Team Qhubeka Assos next year," Lindeman said. "After six years I'm really looking forward to a new environment and to bring that knowledge and skill I've acquired over the years to my new team.
"That said, I will also be using the opportunity to expand my horizons and to take the next step; I've always ridden for Dutch-based teams and to now move into this team which also holds at its centre the purpose of what we do as riders through the Qhubeka Charity, makes me both extremely motivated and also very proud."
Senior directeur sportif Lars Michaelsen said that Lindeman will be a valuable domestique for Qhubeka Assos, while Power can be a 'joker' for them if the Australian returns to his 2018 form.
"Bert-Jan will bring an excellent capacity as a very good addition as a 'helper' rider for our team," he said. "He's done seven Grand Tours and done nearly all kinds of the Classics races, mostly the northern ones but has also Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia. He's solid sprinter, good climber but most of all he brings a wealth of experience coming from six years with Jumbo-Visma.
"[Robert] is a rider who is able to climb really well and who is someone that if he gets into the right environment, or circumstances play in our favour, could be a real joker for us.
"His big results from 2018 show that if we get him back to that level it would be fantastic both for him and us, so if the chemistry works out well then we have high hopes for him as a trump card to play next season."
Qhubeka Assos 2021 roster
Sander Armée (Belgium), Fabio Aru (Italy), Carlos Barbero (Spain), Sean Bennett (USA), Connor Brown (South Africa/New Zealand), Victor Campenaerts (Belgium), Dimitri Claeys (Belgium), Simon Clarke (Australia), Nicholas Dlamini (South Africa), Kilian Frankiny (Switzerland), Michael Gogl (Austria), Lasse Norman Hansen (Denmark), Sergio Henao (Colombia), Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (South Africa), Bert-Jan Lindeman (Netherlands), Giacomo Nizzolo (Italy), Matteo Pelucchi (Italy), Robert Power (Australia), Domenico Pozzovivo (Italy), Mauro Schmid (Switzerland), Andreas Stokbro (Denmark), Dylan Sunderland (Australia), Harry Tanfield (Great Britain), Karel Vacek (Czech Republic), Emil Vinjebo (Denmark), Max Walscheid (Germany), Łukasz Wiśniowski (Poland).
Qhubeka Continental 2021 roster
Negasi Abreha (Ethiopia), Ghebrehiwet Birhane (Eritrea), Kevin Bonaldo (Italy), Drew Christensen (New Zealand), Luca Coati (Italy), Mattia Guasco (Italy), Henok Mulueberhan (Eritrea), Marc Pritzen (South Africa), Antonio Puppio (Italy), Renus Uhiriwe (Rwanda)
