Shane Archbold will return to BORA – hansgrohe, having previously raced for the German team from 2015 to 2017. The New Zealander has spent the first number of months of the season racing in the colours of Irish UCI Continental team EvoPro Racing.

The team announced today that Archbold was returning to the squad in order to bolster the lead-out of their sprinters Peter Sagan, Sam Bennett and Pascal Ackermann. His first appearance for the team looks likely to be the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey where he will line up alongside his former team-mate Bennett.

Archbold’s contract was not renewed by BORA – hansgrohe at the end of the 2017 season, and he went on to sign for Aqua Blue Sport for the 2018 season. When the Irish team folded, Archbold signed for EvoPro Racing and his last races with the team were Cholet – Pays de la Loire and Classic Loire Atlantique at the end of last month.

Shane Archbold – This is incredible! I am so thankful to have received this great opportunity. The WorldTour will definitely be a challenge, but for me there is no better team with which to take on this challenge than BORA – hansgrohe. We have a common history and I also have many friends within the team. I just hope to be ready to show everyone that I deserve this opportunity.”

Ralph Denk, Team Manager – “With Sagan, Bennett and Ackermann we have three fast men, however, we felt that we needed to strengthen the team’s lead-out train and capacity to optimally prepare for fast finishes. Shane was already part of the team from 2015 to 2017, and we have great faith in his abilities. After his serious crash at the 2016 Tour de France, he experienced health problems, which rendered him unable to continue competing on the WorldTour. It was for that reason that we did not extend his contract. However, I assured him that if there was ever a chance for him to return to the team, then the door would always remain open. Now he is fit again, motivated, and ready to grasp this new challenge with both hands, and it is an opportunity that we are very excited to be able to give him.”

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