Trek-Segafredo has confirmed the signing of Alberto Contador for the 2017 season. Cyclingnews reported in July that the Spaniard had put pen to paper with the team during the first rest day of the Tour de France, but his new squad opted to wait until after the conclusion of the Vuelta a España to make a formal announcement.
Contador will be joined at Trek-Segafredo by his current Tinkoff directeur sportif Steven de Jongh and his long-term domestique Jesus Hernandez, who has raced alongside him at Liberty Seguros, Astana and the Tinkoff.
Having previously suggested that the 2016 season would be his last in the professional peloton, Contador confirmed his desire to continue for two more years after a successful spring campaign that yielded victory at the Tour of the Basque Country. With his Tinkoff team already set to disband at the end of the current season, Trek-Segafredo quickly emerged as the front-runner to sign Contador.
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“I am thrilled about the opportunity that is in front of me. Trek-Segafredo is a very attractive and ambitious project that really inspires me,” Contador said in a statement issued on Thursday. “I had some excellent conversations with the team management, and we have a lot of goals and priorities in common. The big objective is to try and win the most important races on the calendar - first and foremost the Tour de France.”
Contador was forced out of this year’s Tour on stage 9 due to illness, having previously suffered two crashes on the opening two days of racing. He returned to win the Vuelta a Burgos in August and placed fourth overall at the Vuelta a España.
Trek-Segafredo have already signed John Degenkolb for 2017 as they bid to fill the gap left in their roster by the retirement of Fabian Cancellara at the end of the current campaign. The team’s existing leader for three-week races is Bauke Mollema, and the Dutchman placed 7th and 11th in his two Tours with Trek to date.
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