Astana-Premier Tech pins down Aleksandr Vlasov and Jakob Fuglsang heading into 2021
Kazakh squad retains two leading riders after Miguel Ángel López jumps ship; brings in new sports directors
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Kazakh squad Astana-Premier Tech finalized its 31-rider roster for 2021, and the good news for them is that rising star Aleksandr Vlasov is on the list.
The team confirmed its squad for the upcoming season, and it includes headline names Vlasov, Jakob Fuglsang and Alexey Lutsenko. The one major name missing from Astana’s 2020 roster is Miguel Ángel López, who recently confirmed his transfer to Movistar.
With “Superman” flying to the Spanish squad and rumors swirling that rising Russian talent Vlasov was eyeing an early exit to join Ineos Grenadiers, Alexander Vinokourov and Co. faced a leadership vacuum. Nonetheless, the rumors proved just that, and the breakout star is staying put for one more year.
The squad’s other two top names, Kazakh champ Lutsenko and do-it-all veteran Fuglsang, both have contracts in place through 2021. A slew of other riders also renewed their deals this week.
Behind the scenes, Astana-Premier Tech also brought in retired Kazakh rider Dmitriy Muravyev and Canadian former Olympian and Tour de France stage-winner Steve Bauer as sport directors.
The addition of Bauer and presence of Hugo Houle and Ben Perry in the roster reinforces the new Canadian leaning to the team after Canadian company Premier Tech stepped up as co-title sponsor earlier this month.
“I think we did a great job in signing new talents and extending with strong riders that proved themselves in our team in the past years,” said general manager Vinokourov. “Our team is known for its attractive way of racing and I’m sure with this roster, we are able to compete on the highest level once again.”
Astana-Premier Tech final roster for 2021:
Alex ARANBURU; Samuele BATTISTELLA; Manuele BOARO; Gleb BRUSSENSKIY; Stefan DE BOD; Rodrigo CONTRERAS; Yevgeniy FEDOROV; Fabio FELLINE; Omar FRAILE; Jakob FUGLSANG; Yevgeniy GIDICH; Jonas GREGAARD WILSLY; Dmitriy GRUZDEV; Hugo HOULE; Gorka IZAGIRRE; Ion IZAGIRRE; Merhawi KUDUS; Alexey LUTSENKO; Davide MARTINELLI; Yuriy NATAROV; Benjamin PERRY; Andrea PICCOLO; Vadim PRONSKIY; Oscar RODRIGUEZ; Javier ROMO; Luis Leon SANCHEZ; Matteo SOBRERO; Nikita STALNOV; Harold TEJADA; Aleksandr VLASOV; Artyom ZAKHAROV.