The number of general classification riders arriving at Bora-hansgrohe to join Sam Bennett next year has increased with news the team has signed Russian Aleksandr Vlasov from Astana-Premier Tech.
His signing is further evidence, if it was needed, the German team is completely remodeling for next year, with riders like Peter Sagan and Pascal Ackermann leaving and the arrival of Sam Bennett and his lead-out train already confirmed.
The team also completed the signing last week of climbers Jai Hindley and Sergio Higuita, as well as road captain Marco Haller. And now that Vlasov is also inward bounded, the team's roster is even stronger as the money saved with Sagan's departure is being put to good use. Like Hindley, Haller and Higuita, Vlasov has signed a three-year contract.
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The arrival of climbers and GC riders into the team should have minimal impact on Bennett as he will get his first choice of races to ride, including the Tour de France. He will also have lead-out support at those races, even if climbers are also picked to target the overall while Ireland's Bennett is going for stage wins.
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The team has said it is signing Vlasov with the hope of riding the Tour de France and aiming for GC there, but probably with an assault on the Giro of Vuelta before an all-out targeting of the Tour.
"We will definitely set our sights on the Grand Tours with him," confirmed team general manager Ralph Denk. "In the medium term, the goal is the Tour de France, yet he still has to learn and develop further, which might be easier at the Giro or Vuelta.
"Overall, we are now very broadly positioned in terms of GC riders, but that was also our goal. Each rider will receive his chances. I'm confident that we'll form a great team that will open up tactical possibilities and put us in a position to be right up there."
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