Astana Pro Team has announced that it has signed contract with former Danish rider Lars Michaelsen who will join the team as a sports director.

47-year-old Michaelsen started racing bike in 1980 when he was 11 years old and turned professional in 1994. In total he has been in professional cycling for 22 years. He has raced 14 years as a professional and finished his carrier after Paris-Roubaix in April 2007.

He has 25 victories as a professional rider, including the Gent-Wevelgem in 1995 and a stage of the Vuelta a Espana in 1997. His preferred races were the cobbled classics in the spring . His beloved race was Paris Roubaix, which he participated in 12 times as a pro rider.

With his 14 years as a pro rider and 8 years as a sports director, he has build up a solid base of knowledge in the world of sycling.

"Joining the Astana Team is an interesting challenge. I hope to be able to contribute with my experiences in this team. I’m grateful that the management has felt that my profile fits into the Astana Pro Team and I’m looking forward to working with an international group of people," said Lars Michaelsen. 

General Manager of Astana Pro Team Alexandr Vinokurov also commented in the engagement of the new sports director.

“Lars Michaelsen has a huge experience in cycling. We were looking for a new sports director for the spring classics and are glad that he has joined our team. It will be good to add Lars to the group of Danish riders that we have signed this year. I think they will easily understand each other. We believe that next year with Lars we will have a strong team for the spring classics that he knows very well as a rider and as a sports director”.

In addition to Michaelsen, the team have signed Danish riders Michael Valgren, Matti Breschel and Jesper Hansen. Their compatriot Jakob Fuglsang is already in the team.