Talented Luxembourger Bob Jungels has signed a two-year contract with the Trek team that will take over the license of his current Radioshack squad from next season. Having already won 2 races in his first professional season, the 20-year-old hopes to continue his development during the coming seasons.
Trek will take over the Radioshack license for next season and so there will no longer be a Luxembourgish affiliation. However, the team plans to keep most of its riders from the small country and following the signing of Andy and Frank Schleck, the team has now announced that Bob Jungels will also be part of next year's team.
The 20-year-old is regarded as one of the biggest talents on the cycling scene and has had an outstanding first professional season. On just his 10th day of racing in the professional ranks, he won the GP Nobili Rubinetterie from a solo escape and has mixed it up with the best ever since.
He enjoyed a rich vein of form in June when he won the queen stage of Tour of Luxembourg and finished 5th overall (he would have finished on the podium if he hadn't got a time penalty) before going on to win both his national road race and time trial championships. He is a hugely versatile athlete that can climb and time trial and even supported Fabian Cancellara in the cobbled classics.
“I had some offers from other teams, but I think it's very important to be surrounded by people that have the same approach,” Jungels said. “In particular [General Manager] Luca Guercilena has been essential in my development and I really want to keep on working with him and the other performance staff. They are the most professional people I know.”
“Besides the guidance, there is obviously the roster of this team, where I have many friends,” he continued. “I feel fortunate to be surrounded with such a good ambiance, and with Fabian [Cancellara], Andy, and Fränk, I find great riders that are ready to share their experience with me.”
General manager Luca Guercilena is pleased with the two-year contract and looks forward to finding out where the versatile rider will shine.
"There's no secret that Bob is a very valuable rider in our long-term plans. Besides his talent and versatility, he knows that one has to work hard in order to achieve success," he said. "In his first year as a professional he already showed us a bit of what he's capable of in the future and he will be a resource to the younger members of the team. We need to see how he develops and whether the focus for him will be more on the classics, the time trials or the stage races. In any case, we're very happy to have him on board!"
With the signing of Jungels, 22 riders have been confirmed for Trek's 2014 roster.
Brian LIGNEEL 33 years | today |
Boas LYSGAARD 20 years | today |
Stéphane URIE 36 years | today |
Shao Yung CHIANG 40 years | today |
Kosuke TAKEYAMA 27 years | today |
© CyclingQuotes.com