New Zealand cyclist Shane Archbold will return to the Bora-Hansgrohe professional team, two years after he was forced out of the World Tour following a crash.
The New Zealander moved to the World Tour with Bora when the team moved up from the Professional Continental ranks in 2017, but left after just one season at the top level.
A serious crash in the 2016 Tour de France left Archbold with health problems that meant he was unable to continue riding at World Tour level.
Now after stints with Aqua Blue Sport and this year with the Continental EvoPro Racing outfit, the 30-year-old will rejoin his old team.
Bora recently lost British rider Peter Kennaugh, who announced he would be taking an indefinite break from professional cycling due to on-going mental health problems.
It is understood that the Lotto Soudal team had also shown interest in Archbold to help support the flagging fortunes of key sprinter Andre Greipel, who this week has decided to drop to Pro Continental status.
Team manager Ralph Denk said: “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.
“I assured Shane that if there was ever a chance for him to return to the team, then the door would 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.”
While riding for Bora-Argon 18 in the 2016 Tour, Archbold crashed at 80km/h on stage 17, breaking his pelvis in the fall. He returned to competition later that season but struggled to find form, and raced only 16 days in 2017, the year Bora moved up to the World Tour.
After leaving the team, he joined Aqua Blue Sport Pro Continental team which collapsed at the close of the 2018 season, and also dabbled in a return to the track with Cycling New Zealand, riding the Madison in UCI qualifying events with Aaron Gate. This year, Archbold joined new Irish Continental team, EvoPro Racing, alongside his Aqua Blue team-mate Gate, and another Kiwi, Luke Mudgway.
Bora invited Archbold, a former lead-out man to the team’s Irish sprint star Sam Bennett, to bolster the support for their fast finishers.
“With Peter Sagan, Sam Bennett and Pascal 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,” Denk said.
Archbold is delighted to be back in the fold.
“This is incredible. I am so thankful to have received this opportunity.
“The World Tour 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.”
It brings the tally of New Zealand riders in the World Tour to a record seven riders, joining Jack Bauer, Dion Smith and Sam Bewley (Mitchelton Scott), George Bennett (Team Jumbo-Visma), Tom Scully (EF Education First) and Patrick Bevin (Team CCC).
CAPTION: Shane Archbold returns to Bora-Hansgrohe colours for 2019 (Photo credit: Artur Widak/NurPhoto).