Even though Tinkoff-Saxo were convinced about their ability to surround Peter Sagan with reliable support for his spring campaign while announcing the most anticipated transfer of the season, they also hinted that the team still were looking for some further strengthening to their classics unit. Particular riders haven’t been named but unsurprisingly Edvald Boasson Hagen, who confirmed his departure from Team Sky, immediately popped out, and Russian squad’s general manager Stefano Feltrin confirmed their interest in signing the 27-year old Norwegian yesterday.

"At the moment it’s up to the rider and agent. We’ve made our intentions very clear and that’s where we are. I don’t work off gut feelings, but we think he would make a nice addition," Feltrin told Cyclingnews.

Some time ago regarded as one of the brightest rising stars of his generation, Boasson Hagen hasn’t shown almost a single spark of his talent during last seasons at Team Sky, apparently lacking both form and motivation to perform at the expected level. Nonetheless, Norwegian rider’s agent claimed that there was huge interest from several squads still believing in his ability to live up to high expectations, MTN-Qhubeka and Giant-Shimano being mostly mentioned alongside the Russian team.

The Tinkoff-Saxo general manager Stefano Feltrin confirmed yesterday that they have shown a serious interest in signing Boasson Hagen and, as a result, offered the 27-year old classics specialist a contract. However, now it’s only up to the rider and his agent as their style of leading negotiations has been kindly described by Feltrin as “peculiar”. Again unsurprisingly, team owner Oleg Tinkov came more than one step further in describing his latest experiences with the Norwegian duo on his famous Twitter account.

"Although I adore Norwegian music, I don't like some of the Norwegian "pro"-cyclists - they are messy and behave like girls. Shame," Oleg Tinkov posted on Twitter.

"We’ve had a lot of contact with the agent but at the moment we don’t have anything official to announce. What I can say is that they have a peculiar way of negotiating contracts and I can’t go further than that. A contract has not been signed."

"Money is part of it, yes but we have an approach and we stick to our budget. If someone has a higher value of what they think they’re worth and it’s more than we’re prepared to pay, then it’s not going to happen. I know it’s a professional world and if someone comes up with an offer, and a rider thinks that money is the most important part of the equation then he should go for it."

Certainly unhappy with a development of his career in the Team Sky outfit, the 27-year old Norwegian is most likely looking for an opportunity to ride for his own than playing a domestique role. However, Feltrin claims that even though building a strong unit around Sagan is still their priority, the duo could easily coexist in one team and an addition of Boasson Hagen would significantly bolster their strategic options.

"We believe it’s possible that they could race together and it’s a very attractive strategic proposition. Could it happen? I don’t know but there’s no rush. What we’re looking for are riders who really want to join our team. If a rider has any second thoughts then our team is not the right place for them. We have no pressure, we have a solid group but we’re not in any rush. We can add a few additions but there’s time and the transfer window has only been open for nineteen days. However we want riders who are 110 per cent committed to the group and nothing less."

Tinkoff-Saxo so far have been arguably the most active players on transfer market, and Feltrin admitted that several riders would be forced to leave the squad as a consequence of new additions.

"We have four riders who are almost certain to leave the team. I’d prefer for them to announce their futures but one is probably Kroon, who I think will retire. There might be a few more that leave but there will not be a massive turn around, with maybe four or five riders leaving and the same number joining."