Two more riders for Luxembourg team
While the specifics of the new Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project remain unclear, two more riders have been confirmed for the team. Two 29-year-olds, Oliver Zaugg and Joost Posthuma are the latest cyclists
to be announced for the already-stacked roster.
Zaugg is a Swiss climbing specialist who has proven his stage-race prowess with 15th-place overall finishes in both the Vuelta a Espana and the Tour de Suisse. He would be moving to the team
after a two-year stint with Liquigas.
“Oliver is someone who is always reliable in the mountains,” said general manager Brian Nygaard in a team press release. “He can definitely be counted on to be there to protect the leaders on the last
climbs of the Grand Tours. He is very much a luxury helper for the leaders.”
Both Zaugg and Posthuma will be vying for a spot on the Tour de France team, the race which looks to be the major goal for the team and for leader Andy Schleck. Posthuma is a Dutch time-trial specialist
and has a list of prestigious victories including the Tour of Luxembourg, the Vuelta a Andalucia and the Three Days of de Panne.
“Joost is someone who we definitely see as being able to take the next step to winning big time trials and shorter stage races throughout the year,” said Nygaard. “He has been knocking on the door for
quite a while now, and we hope that with the added motivation of coming to a team like ours, he’ll be able to add more success to his already impressive CV. I think he could be one of the big surprises of next year.”
Presumably, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) already has the full line-up on hand, since the new Luxembourg team was the number-one ranked team in the world based on the sporting record of its riders.
However, the team maintains that its line-up is incomplete, and it has long been rumoured that world time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara is the major name missing from the list.
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