Sam Welsford, the former top track rider now making a name for himself in road sprinting, has been signed by Bora-hansgrohe for the next two years, having competed with Team DSM for the last two years, taking five wins.
Welsford has been signed at a time when it is widely anticipated Sam Bennett will leave the team. Australian Welsford rider looks like a solid replacement for Bennett, while Bora-hansgrohe will also have Tour de France stage winner Jordi Meeus on its books next year, as well as lead-out man Danny Van Poppel.
Van Poppel signed for the team in the winter of 2021, as part of Sam Bennett's lead-out train. However, he recently signed a three-year extension to his contract as Bennett and Ryan Mullen are expected to leave, having been omitted from the Bora-hansgrohe Grand Tour line-ups this year.
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AG2R Citroën Team has emerged in recent weeks as the most widely tipped team to sign Irishman Bennett, who turns 33-years-old next month and hopefully still has plenty of race wins in his legs in the years ahead.
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Welsford (27) was part of Australia's team pursuit line-up that won bronze and silver at the last two Olympic Games. He is also a former four-time world champion on the track - team pursuit and scratch race - and switched to road cycling after the Olympics in 2021.
He won one race in his first year at World Tour level - a stage of the 2022 Tour of Turkey - and has claimed four victories so far this season; two stages at Vuelta a San Juan Internacional (2.Pro), Grand Prix Criquielion (1.1) and a stage at Renewi Tour (2.UWT) last week.
Rolf Aldag, head of sports at Bora-hansgrohe, said Welsford would strengthen the team's sprinting powers, with the aim of winning more races next year.
"Sam is a pure sprinter and has one of the highest final speeds in the peloton. He fits perfectly among the top sprinters in our team," Aldag said. "He showed his great potential at Scheldeprijs (taking 2nd), the unofficial sprinters' championship, and most recently in Belgium. And that's exactly what we want to build on together. Because our goal is clear: with Sam, the number of our wins per season should increase.”
Welsford said he was delighted to join Bora-hansgrohe, adding: "I want to make the next step in my sprint career. I'm keen to develop and to get the jersey on the top step of the podium. The team has a huge history with really good sprinters and their development. So, for me to join such a team is really nice."
