Having previously signed Peter Sagan as it moves up to WorldTour level, Sam Bennett's team has now signed a new leader for the Tour de France. Leopold König rode for the team in the past and comes back after two years at Team Sky.
Leopold König is moving from Team Sky to join Sam Bennett's Bora-Hansgrohe squad.
The Czech rider has signed a new three-year contract with the squad, which is moving up from ProContinental to WorldTour for next year.
The signing of the Grand Tour specialist, which was confirmed this morning, follows just weeks after the team confirmed Peter Sagan was also coming on board.
The team said given König's prowess in Grand Tour's he would lead the squad at the Tour de France next year, which begins in Germany where Bora-Hansgrohe is based.
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The signing of such big names will obviously change the complexion of the outfit and will affect all of the riders, including Bennett.
However, with König clearly going to focus on the Tour next year as his top priority and Sagan also a certainty to ride the race, that may open the door for a rider like Bennett to give his focus to the Giro or the Vuelta, where many would fancy his chances of stage wins given his finishing kick.
König finished 7th overall in the Tour two years ago and was 9th in the Vuelta in 2013 when he also won a stage. He finished 6th overall in the Giro last year.
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The team knows König well and believes he can do the business at the Tour de France after two years at Team Sky (Photo: Sirotti)
“It was Enrico Poitschke and Ralph Denk back then who picked me up from a small Continental team and gave me the chance to race the biggest races in the world and to progress as a rider,” said König.
The 28-year-old has ridden with the team in the past, when it was a ProContinental squad riding as NettApp-Endura.
He then left and rode for Team Sky for the last two years, during which time NetApp-Endura morphed into Bora-Argon 18.
And the team is changing its name and backers again to Bora-Hansgrohe as it ups its approach and moves into the WorldTour ranks.
“When I heard about their new project and ambitions I felt like coming back home where it all started,” added König.
“I've learned a lot the last two years with Team Sky and I'm extremely grateful for this experience. Now I'm ready to give my best in the coming years and chase our ambitious goals.”
Team manager Ralph Denk said he was delighted König was coming back to the team.
“I feel honoured, because it is big evidence of trust to make that move coming from Team Sky, and even though 2016 was not his best season he still is one of a few riders that has the potential to finish a Grand Tour on the podium,” he said.
“Once we developed Leo from amateur level to a top ten Tour de France rider, now we look forward to learn from his experience from the last years.”
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