Luxembourg management staff announced
The new Luxembourg cycling project has been wrapped in secrecy since Andy and Frank Schleck left Saxo Bank to begin developing a new team based in their home country. Coming with them from the Danish team were managers Brian Nygaard
and Kim Andersen, but since then few rider signings and no more staff has been made public.
On Thursday, October 14, the rest of the full management team was announced. Nygaard and Andersen will be joined by Luca Guercilena, Torsten Schmidt and Dane Lars Michaelsen to lead the new team in its first professional year.
"Ultimately it was a professional decision because this new team interests me enormously, and I am very motivated to work with the sort of general classification riders who will be on the team," said Guercilena.
Guercilena has been a trainer at Quick Step since 2003, one of the first sports directors with a background in medicine, something that has since become the norm.
"Luca was one of the first people I had in mind when this team became reality and I'm thrilled to have him on board," said Nygaard. "To me, Luca really personifies a lot of what this team is about."
Schmidt, a former cyclist himself, has been with Saxo Bank for the last three years, making his transfer to the new team, which includes many former colleagues, an easy decision to make.
"Even though it is a new team, I have worked with many of the members of management and a few of the riders before, so we all know each other, know how we work well together and I am absolutely sure we will be successful," said Schmidt.
Michaelsen spent 16 years in the peloton and has worked as a sports director since his retirement from competition. He will be the third assistant team manager for the 25-rider squad.
"I hope that I can pass on my experiences to the greatest advantage for the riders," said Michaelsen. "In life, you can always learn. The fact that this team is composed of different people, with different nationalities and different
mentalities will always stimulate me to observe and learn."
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