Two skilled and very talented cyclists, Heinrich Haussler and Grega Bole, have signed to be a part of the BAHRAIN MERIDA Pro Cycling Team in 2017.

Heinrich Haussler 32, Australian of German origin, started his professional career in 2005 and shot to prominence with a stage win in the 2005 Vuelta. Haussler took five great wins in 2006 and has had strong classics campaigns since then. In 2009 he was second in both the Tour of Flanders and Milan-San Remo. He also finished 7th in the 2009 edition of Paris-Roubaix. Haussler's biggest victory was the victory on stage 13 in the 2009 Tour de France. Last year he won the Australian National Road Race Championships for the first time in his career.

After signing the agreement he said: ”I am really happy that the team has giving me the opportunity to race and I am really looking forward to a new start and a new structure. I had very good experiences in the past years with new teams and I am looking forward in a new culture in a team. In general I am looking forward to give my best in the top races in the world in the next season.”

Slovenian Grega Bole is 31 years old and he joined his first professional team in 2008. His biggest victory is the 2011 GP Ouest-France. In 2015, Bole won  the first stage of the inaugural Tour of Croatia after negotiating a series of bends where two crashes occurred. This year he was 1st at Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi, 1st in Overall Tour de Korea and 3rd Trofeo Laigueglia, so BAHRAIN MERIDA Pro Cycling Team expects him to be a strong support as a team member and as a skilled rider.

Bole said: ”I am happy that I have signed with BAHRAIN MERIDA Pro Cycling Team. I am already excited about next season and for our new challenges. Most of all I hope that the coming season will be successful, both for the whole team which I will help and do my best for and also for me personally.”

General Manager of BAHRAIN MERIDA Pro Cycling Team Brent Copeland commented:

“It gives us great pleasure to make this important announcement, both Heinrich and Grega are riders that we have had our eyes on for a long time. They are riders who we expect can bring fantastic results to the team in many different terrains. When speaking to both of them during the negotiations we wwere very proud to hear how motivated they both are to be racing for this fantastic new project, their CVs speak for themselves so there is not much to explain about them, What I do want to point out is even though they both have huge experience in the peloton and I do feel they still have a good margin of improvement and we are all excited to see them perform in the Bahrain-Merida colors next year."