The Giant-Alpecin team announced today the signing of two young Germans to its WorldTour team for the next two years: 19-year-old Lennard Kämna and 22-year-old sprinter Phil Bauhaus. The duo are part of the team's effort to develop new German talents from the ground up.
Kämna comes to the team from the Stölting Service Group. He was the bronze medallist in the U23 time trial at the world championships in Richmond, and was the world champion as a junior in the discipline the previous year in Ponferrada in addition to taking the junior time trial titles in the German and European championships.
"Lennard is one of the biggest talents out there and we're excited he has chosen to join us," team coach Marc Reef said. "He has proven to be an excellent time trialist but for sure we also recognize his GC qualities. Together with Lennard we are going to work hard in the next years to get the best out of his abilities and to see in which areas he will be at his best at WorldTour level.
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"Traditionally we are very focused on young talents with the aim to develop them into world class riders, and for sure Lennard is one of them. With this very same objective we start our Development Program next year. We want to inspire and support talented riders from a young age, giving them the opportunity to learn that cycling is much more than just having strong legs. The aim is to nurture them to become professional athletes ready for their next step towards the WorldTour, using expert resources and scientific excellence from our WorldTour program to reach their full potential."
Bauhaus moves across from the Bora-Argon 18 team, with which he scored victories in the Tour d'Azerbaïdjan and Tour of Denmark this season. Prior to signing with the Pro Continental team, he enjoyed a prolific season with Team Stölting in 2014 that included wins in the Volta a Portugal, Baltic Chain Tour and a third place in the elite German road race championships behind Andre Greipel and John Degenkolb.
"We're happy to sign Phil, a young sprinter who has shown a lot of potential this season," Reef said. "Together with our coaches and our experts, step-by-step we want to develop him as a sprinter and he will be offered the time and space for that. Alongside our current sprinters Nikias [Arndt] and Max [Walscheid], these three represent a strong generation of up-and-coming German sprinters."
"I am very proud to step up to the WorldTour with Team Giant-Alpecin," Bauhaus said. "Their approach in developing young riders has been pretty successful and in terms of sprint preparation they have lots of knowledge and expertise, which were important factors in my decision. I am excited to play my role in supporting the leaders and in some races to go for my own chance, and I am very confident this step will help me reach a higher level."
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