Short news roundup: Dan Martin, Neil Stephens, Zhandos Bizhigitov, Enrico Gasparotto
Sep 05 2018 06:35 am CET
Photo by ASO/Alex BROADWAY
The short news of the day includes Daniel Martin's stepping out of the Vuelta a España, Neil Stephen's departure from Mitchelton-Scott, Astana's contract renewal and Dimension-Data's signing.
Daniel Martin withdraws from Vuelta to be at twins' birth
The rider of UAE Team Emirates took the decision of travelling to be at his twins' arrival. "After consultation with the team and doctors in Andorra, we have come to the decision it is best for me to travel home to Andorra in order to support my wife with the imminent arrival of our twin girls. This Vuelta has been a great experience to race in as a teammate to this strong and young team, and to be able to offer my full support to Fabio. But the time has now come, slightly earlier than we anticipated, to head home and to support my wife in this incredibly exciting period of our lives."
Neil Stephens leaves Mitchelton-Scott
After eight years as sports director at the Australian team, Stephens has decided to leave the team. "After a long meditation, I've come to the conclusion that I have to say goodbye to Mitchelton-Scott. All good things come to an end and, in my case, it's time to look for a new challenge," said Stephens in a letter published in Spanish site Zikloland.
"Possibly, in some matters, the team and I didn't agree, and that is why I think it is better to continue in separate ways."
Astana renews contract with Zhandos Bizhigitov
The Kazakh rider will continue in the team in 2019. "I am very happy to continue working in Astana Pro Team," he commented. "The first two years flew away very fast. I was able to get some experience, but, I think more work has to be done to reach really high results. In the next season, I want to continue working hard, to get new experience and forces to step to a new level to be ready for the big goals."
Dimension Data signs Enrico Gasparotto
The Italian specialist in Classics will join the African team for the 2019 season. "I’m really excited and looking forward to 2019," the rider commented. After 14 years as a professional rider, I’m joining a group of completely new people who I have never worked with before. It means that in the beginning, it will take a bit of time to get to know each other but that only makes me more enthusiastic.
"It’s a great possibility to show the real 'Gaspa' and by that, I mean the person as well as the cyclist. Right now I’m like a kid at the first day of school! New people who for sure will become friends later."
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