Team Argos-Shimano is pleased to announce the roster of its newly established development team, which is composed of international talents. The full roster includes 10 riders from six different countries. “The new team is a mixed group of riders,” said coach Jens Lang. “All the specialties are represented in the team, from sprinters to classics riders and from climbers to team captains. “We will participate in events on the Europe Tour calendar, which features races in all the important cycling areas, including Benelux, France, Italy and Germany. “When we started the team we were looking for talented young riders with the potential to develop into top-level professionals. We will offer them intensive coaching and guidance, and we truly believe that these riders will become the core of our ProTour team for the future. We are happy that they want to start this project together with us.

“Christian Bertilsson (SWE), 22, has shown his potential with two wins this season. With his experience and speed he will be a critical component in the sprint train.

“Jenthe Biermans (BEL), 17, is Belgian junior road race champion. He also showed his strength in the Tour of Flanders, where he crossed the finish line first. He has the potential to become a classics specialist.

“Former German junior road race champion Jan Brockhoff (GER), 18, is known for his tactical intelligence. Despite his young age he can perfectly read a race and will have an important role as a team captain.

“Alex Frame (NZL), 20, is a rider with fast legs. He comes from the track, where he was very successful in 2011 and 2012, winning multiple medals. In 2012 he started his career as a sprinter on the road and impressed many with his speed. He will be the team’s designated sprinter.

“Kristian Haugaard Jensen (DEN), 22, is an all-round rider. Last year he won the climber’s jersey in the Tour de l’Avenir, the Tour de France for U23 riders. He is very close to making the step up to the WorldTour level.

“Mathias Rask Jeppesen (DEN), 18, is one of the youngsters in our team. It is important for him to gain as much experience as possible and to finish his school exam this season.

“Fredrik Ludvigsson (SWE), 19, like his brother Tobias (member of the World Tour Team), is a very talented stage race rider. We will be focused on developing him as a GC contender. His best results last season were his victory in the Boucle de l’Artois and his second place in the Tour of Estonia.

“Robert Pölder (SWE), 21, will also have an important role as a team captain. He has already gained significant experience and has a good view of the action during a race. He can make a well-thought-out decision in a split second.

“For the time trials we have Maximilian Schachmann (GER), 19, who won bronze in the junior time trial world championships in 2012. He has a great deal of potential to become one of the top German time trial specialists within a few years.”

Another member of the team will be cyclo-cross specialist Lars van der Haar (NED), 22. Van de Haar established his name with a third place in the cyclo-cross world championships and victory in the Dutch national championships this year. Last weekend he won the first Cyclo-cross World Cup of the season in Valkenburg.
“We will support Lars with our program and coaching staff in order to help him improve in cyclo-cross,” said Lang. “In the summer we will offer him a program on the road with this team in order to prepare for the cyclo-cross season.”

“I see myself developing in this team with the right people and environment around me,” said van der Haar. “Team Argos-Shimano is a team that develops not only riders but also equipment, and that is something I want to be part of. In the conversations we have had I have felt really good, and I am looking forward to benefiting from the setup they want to build around me.”

Van der Haar will join the team on March 1, after the cyclo-cross season.

Hier das komplette Team

Christian Bertilsson (contract through 2014)
Jenthe Biermans (contract through 2014)
Jan Brockhoff (contract through 2014)
Alex Frame (contract through 2014)
Lars van der Haar (contract through 2017)
Kristian Haugaard Jensen (contract through 2014)
Mathias Rask Jeppesen (contract through 2014)
Fredrik Ludvigsson (contract through 2014)
Robert Pölder (contract through 2014)
Maximilian Schachmann (contract through 2014)