On the same day it seems certain Bora-hansgrohe has left Sam Bennett out of its Tour de France 2023 line-up again, reports have also surfaced in Europe suggesting the Irishman will leave the team at the end of his contract this year.
Those reports state Bennett has been linked to another team, even though one of the riders he brought into Bora-hansgrohe as part of his lead-out train is expected to stay with the German World Tour outfit long-term.
It is stated Bora-hansgrohe has signed Australian Sam Welsford as a new sprinter for its team next year having initially tried to lure Fabio Jakobsen from Soudal-QuickStep, where his contract expires at the end of the year.
Welsford has today been named in the Team DSM line-up for the Tour as its dedicated sprinter while Jakobsen is expected to spearhead the sprint challenge on the French Grand Tour for Soudal-QuickStep. A former track rider, Welsford (27), is a four-time world champion on the track and also won silver and bronze in the team pursuit at the last two Olympic Games.
Advertisement
Related News
Welsford was riding for a club team to the end of 2021 but after the Tokyo Games switched from a track focus to road and joined Team DSM at the start of last season. He has since won four races and seems to have potential to further develop as a road sprinter given he is a newcomer, even though time is not exactly on his side.
A report on respected Dutch outlet WielerFlits has today linked Welsford to Bora-hansgrohe next year, saying he has already signed a deal with the team. The same report also says Bennett will leave Bora-hansgrohe as Welsford joins.
WielerFlits has linked the Irishman to US-registered Human Powered Health for next year, though that is only mentioned in passing. There were similar reports last year linking Mark Cavendish to Human Powered Health before a place became available for him at Astana Qazaqstan Team.
Bennett rode for Bora-hansgrohe - in its various guises - for six years to the end of 2019. He then went to Deceuninck-QuickStep for two seasons before returning to Bora-hansgrohe on a two-year deal at the start of last year. However, having been omitted from the team's Tour line-up last year and again this year - that news emerging this morning - it seems his time at Bora-hansgrohe will likely end at the expiry of his contract at year end.
Bennett brought both Ryan Mullen and Danny van Poppel into Bora-hansgrohe as his lead-out men. While the Irishman missed last year's Tour and is set to miss the 2023 edition, Van Poppel made the team both years and it seems he has signed a new three-year contract with Bora-hansgrohe, which would keep him at the squad until the end of 2026.
