VN news ticker: Allan Peiper becomes advisor at UAE-Team Emirates, BikeExchange signs Manly and Baker

Allan Peiper becomes advisor in UAE-Team Emirates backroom shake-up

Allan Peiper will take on a new role within the UAE-Team Emirates set-up as the WorldTour squad makes some changes behind the scenes ahead of the 2022 season.

Peiper will move from his role as head sports director and take up the position of sporting and technical advisor. The move to a less burdensome role is due to recent health issues.

Other swaps behind the scenes will see Marco Marcato retire and become a sport director. Meanwhile, Jeroen Swart will be the team’s new performance coordinator and Adriano Rotunno will take his place as the head of medical.

“Good results from the riders on the road are built on a strong pillar of support staff and a lot of tireless work behind the scenes,” team principal Mauro Gianetti said. “We have assembled a good group of people with great specialty in their field and we trust and hope that we can bring it all together for another strong year in 2022.”

The backroom shake-up reflects some big changes in the UAE-Team Emirates rider roster with Pascal Ackermann, Marc Soler, Alvaro Hodeg, João Almeida, and George Bennett among new signings for 2022.

Team BikeExchange bring Manly and Baker back into the fold

Alexandra Manly and Georgia Baker will both return to the BikeExchange set-up in 2022 after signing two-year deals with the squad.

Both Manly and Baker are decorated track riders who are looking to return to full-time road racing after years spent focusing on the track ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

“Alex and Georgia are not new to the team, Alex spent five years with GreenEDGE Cycling and Georgia was with us in 2017 and we are very happy to welcome them back into the family,” general manager Brent Copeland said.

“With Alex, she had other targets on the track over the last couple of years which will have helped her to improve and develop her riding characteristics in many ways. She has achieved top results in her career since the junior level and we are looking forward to seeing what she can do next year back on the road.

Georgia has matured as a rider over the past years on the track and we believe we will be able to help her grow even more. It’s very important for us that she already knows some of the riders and the staff members, this will facilitate her and us into this new chapter of our journey together.”