Chris Lawless, the former Team Sky and Team Ineos rider who won Tour de Yorkshire, is set to race back on the UK Continental scene next year after signing with a new team there. Lawless rode for three seasons with Sky/Ineos, to the end of the 2020 season, at which point he joined TotalEnergies.
His move to his new team was not without its problems and he has said the impact of the pandemic on the racing calendar meant his efforts to gel with the team and hit the ground running were interrupted, which was far from ideal.
He has now signed with WiV SunGod, meaning the 27-year-old will compete in a mix of races in the UK and Continental Europe. The team on Sunday confirmed the news saying Lawless had been "a prolific winner when last on the UK scene".
Advertisement
WiVSunGod added it "looks forward to having him flex his muscles in the bunch sprints throughout the season". Lawless joins the team on a one-year contract.
Related News
Irish riders Rory Townsend and Matt Teggart have both ridden for WiVSunGod in recent years, though Irish champion Townsend has recently confirmed he is moving to New Zealand ProContinental team Bolton Equities Black Spoke Pro Cycling for 2023.
Back in 2019, Lawless had extended his deal with Team Ineos and his new contract was set to take him to the end of the 2021 season with the British team. However, he decided to break that contract a year early and move to TotalEnergies for the start of 2021. He believed the move would bring more opportunities for him, including in the classics.
While he has ridden for that French ProContinental team for the last two seasons, and been team mates with Peter Sagan, he did not get off the mark with any victories. Lawless is a sprinter but his best win during his team with Sky/Ineos came in 2019 when he claimed the overall victory at Tour de Yorkshire.
He also won two stages at Coppi e Bartali with Team Sky in 2018, with the Yorkshire overall victory the last win of his career to date. He should pick up more victories next year in Britain, where success could see him move back up the ranks again.
