Things have unraveled for the Roth team in a season that should have marked a new beginning. The year 2016 was the beginning of a great adventure, with a big sponsor, big goals. Things ended badly: the big sponsor left before the season started, there was not even a single victory, and by the end of the year the verdict came: Roth will not continue at the pro continental level.

Since then, things have improved. On November 11, the Swiss Union announces the arrival of a new sponsor: Akros. With this new sponsor, Roth - Akros has revised the goals and although it remains in the continental ranks, the team will not be just a team for young riders as originally planned. They have now been active on the transfer market and luckily, there are still many riders without contracts. After Jonathan Fumaux, another rider of the defunct IAM will join Roth. Pirmin Lang has signed a deal with the Swiss team which has also agreed on a partnership with the Kuota bike manufacturer.

Pirmin Lang has just turned 32. He is a loyal domestique and he has not won since 2012, where he won a stage of Boucles de la Mayenne and a stage of the An Post Ras where he also finished fourth overall. This year his best result was a second place in the Swiss Championships behind Jonathan Fumeaux. 

Lang is expected to start his season at the Grand Prix La Marseillaise (January 29) or at the Etoile de Bessèges (February 1-5).