Cycling News: The German WorldTour Team Sunweb introduced itself to the public in Berlin at the beginning of the year. In addition to the professionals, the women and the development team, as well as the new jersey and the new racing machines were presented.
The Sunweb team presented itself with a new squad, a new jersey design and new bikes for the upcoming 2019 season. The main focus should be on the classics and the GrandTours, with top star Tom Dumolin concentrating on the Giro d'Italia.
“We are specifically focused on the Giro. We reckon we have better chances in Italy than in the Tour de France” – team boss Iwan Spekenbrink
Nine newcomers complement the men's squad, which is made up of 25 professionals. The most prominent commitments are the veterans Nicolas Roche (BMC) and Jan Bakelants (AG2R). There are also talented young drivers such as U23 world champion Marc Hirschi and the German U23 champion Max Kanter, who, like Dutchman Joris Nieuwenhuis, made the leap from the development team to the pros.
34-year-old Roche and Australian Power (Mitchelton-Scott), eleven years his junior, are expected to fill in the gaps left by the departure of Laurens ten Dam and Simon Geschke (both to the CCC team). Both are intended to help Tom Dumoulin on the mountain stages of the grand tours.
The women's team consists of eleven riders, the youth team Sunweb Development consists of 14 talents.
Team Sunweb 2019: From Giant to Cervelo
In addition to the new drivers, there are also new sponsors in Team Sunweb. Instead of Giant, you will now be on Cervelo bikes. It is hoped that this step will benefit from Cervelo's innovations.
There are also changes to the clothes, because from 2019 Sunweb will focus on craft clothing. There will also be some changes in terms of design, with red as the new team color in the foreground.
Team Sunweb 2019 - Men's Squad: Cees Bol, Roy Curvers, Tom Dumoulin, Wilco Kelderman, Joris Nieuwenhuis, Sam Oomen, Martijn Tusveld (all NED), Nikias Arndt, Johannes Fröhlinger, Lennard Kämna, Max Kanter, Max Walscheid (all GER), Chris Hamilton, Jai Hindley, Michael Matthews, Robert Power, Michael Storer (all AUS), Asbjørn Kragh Andersen, Søren Kragh Andersen, Casper Pedersen (all DEN), Jan Bakelants, Louis Vervaeke (both BEL), Chad Haga (USA), Marc Hirschi (SUI), Nicolas Roche (IRL)
Team Sunweb 2019 – Women's Squad: Lucinda Brand, Janneke Ensing, Floortje Mackaij, Julia Soek (all NED), Susanne Andersen (NOR), Georgi Pfeiffer (GBR), Leah Kirchmann (CAN), Juliette Labous (FRA), Liane Lippert (GER), Pernille Mathiesen (DEN ), Coryn Rivera (US)
The Team Sunweb 2019 Development Squad: Leon Heinschke, Niklas Märkl, Marius Mayrhofer, Martin Salmon, Florian Stork (all GER), Nils Eekhoff, Edo Maas, Jarno Mobach, Tim Naberman, Nils Sinschek (all NED), Felix Gall (AUT), Ben Katerberg (CAN), Xandres Vervloesem (BEL), Ludvig Anton Wacker (DEN)
Cycling season preview: At Sunweb everything stands and falls with Dumoulin