Nils Politt signs three-year deal with Bora-Hansgrohe
German talent to leave Israel Start-Up Nation to add muscle to Bora-Hansgrohe's classics squad.
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Bora-Hansgrohe announced today that they have signed a three-year contract with Nils Politt, one of the world’s top classics riders. The news is confirmation of a deal first reported on VeloNews last month.
Politt, who finished second in Paris-Roubaix and fifth in the Tour of Flanders last year, is considered to be one of the sport’s biggest up-and-coming talents, and a major recruit for the German outfit.
While the team’s classics squad has largely been constructed around cycling superstar Peter Sagan, Politt offers serious reinforcement and multiple cards to play in the northern classics.
“Nils will of course be vital in strengthening our classics squad, but we still also see a lot of potential in him generally as a rider. We want to fully develop this potential over the coming years,” said the team’s general manager Ralph Denk. “It’s great that this has finally worked out. We have been interested in Nils previously, that’s certainly no secret. I think that the consistent path that Bora-Hansgrohe has been following was ultimately part of what convinced him.”
“I’m really very happy. In a way, it’s like being reunited with my friends from the early days and that made the decision quite easy for me,” Politt said. “I’ve known several of the riders in the team for a number of years and I’m looking forward to racing with them. For the classics, we will have an enormously strong team next year, and that’s also a new situation for me.”
Politt confirmed his enormous potential in 2019 when he broke free with Belgian Philippe Gilbert in Paris-Roubaix to place second.
While the 26-year-old was one of the key recruits in the formation of Israel Start-Up Nation this year, he remained relatively isolated in the one-day races. And with the recent signing of Chris Froome to the team, it appears that the Israeli outfit could likely be focusing more on the grand tours in the immediate future.
Bora-Hansgrohe, however, has one of the strongest classics squads, and the arrival of Politt will instantly put them on the same level as historic powerhouse teams like Deceuninck-Quick-Step.
“Over the past few years, I have been more of a lone warrior, so to speak, in those races. Tactically,” he said. “This will definitely provide us with a vast array of opportunities.”