With Aleksejs Saramotins and Matteo Pelucchi, another two new riders join Bora-hansgrohefrom IAM Cycling. Saramotins will be an important domestique for the Classics, Pelucchi will strengthen the group of sprinters. Also Jay McCarthy joins the team coming from Tinkoff. The young Australian is built for one week tours. Dominik Nerz has to end his career.

27 riders from 11 different nations form the BORA – hansgrohe team for 2017. With 8 riders from Germany, about a third of the riders represent the team’s home country. About 30% of the team are young talents which will be developed in the coming years. With a mix of 9 GC riders, 6 sprinters and 12 all-rounders the team is well balanced in total. The most prominent departure is Domink Nerz who decided to quit his career by the end of the season for health reasons.  

“I think we did a good job and are able to enter the 2017 season with a strong roster. For me it is important that also in the future about one third of the riders will be from Germany. We are a German team with German sponsors and I think this has to be represented in our roster. Also on the staff side we were able to find the right people for key positions. Lars Teutenberg will be our performance director, with Jens Zemke and Jan Valach we have two new sports directors. We also changed our approach regarding training and season planning and switched from the riders coaches to own team coaches and hired 3 experienced people for that. I am sure that we provide our riders a professional surrounding. This is especially important for our young riders and their development in the coming years," said Ralph Denk, Team Manager.

“It is hard for me, but I have to quit my career by the end of 2016 for health reasons. It’s really a tough call, and to say goodbye to the pro scene won’t be easy for me. But after several medical investigations there is no other option. I gave it everything until the last races in Italy and also the team supported me as far as possible – I am very thankful for that – but I have to stop cycling at this point. It was an intense time in cycling where I gained experience, had some great moment and also found friendship. Now there is a new part in my life waiting and like always in cycling, I again will give it 100%," said Dominik Nerz.

“We look very much forward to the coming season. Ralph Denk has built a well-balanced squad, all types of riders from promising young talents to experienced athletes and top stars are represented. As a sponsor we have already managed to achieve a massive increase in brand awareness, especially in the cycling-loving countries. This is what we aim for and our main objective of our sponsorship commitment," added Willi Bruckbauer, owner of BORA.

“We, as new title sponsors, are very pleased with the riders selected for the team’s first hansgrohe season. We are particularly thrilled about the commitment of Peter Sagan, as this corresponds to hansgrohe’s goal of becoming the number one worldwide in showers and mixers for bathrooms and kitchens. One hundred and fifteen years of experience have taught us that sustained success requires a highly motivated and top performing team made up of experienced staff and talented trainees. We are convinced that with this roster, the team, just like hansgrohe, has established the ideal pre-conditions to achieve sustainable success," concluded Thorsten Klapproth, Chairman of the Board of Hansgrohe SE.

2017 Bora-Hansgrohe roster: 

Pascal Ackermann (Ger), Shane Archbold (NZl), Jan Bárta (Cze), Erik Baška (Svk), Cesare Benedetti (Ita), Sam Bennett (Irl), Maciej Bodnar (Pol), Emanuel Buchmann (Ger), Marcus Burghardt (Ger), Silvio Herklotz (Ger), Lopold König (Cze), Michael Kolar (Svk), Patrick Konrad (Aut), Rafal Majka (Pol), Jay McCarthy (Aus), Jose Mendes (Por), Gregor Mühlberger (Aut), Matteo Pelucchi (Ita), Christoph Pfingsten (Ger), Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut), Pawel Poljanski (Pol), Juraj Sagan (Svk), Peter Sagan (Svk), Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat), Andreas Schillinger (Ger), Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) and Rudiger Selig (Ger)