Matteo Trentin latest rider to leave CCC Team as squad’s future still looks bleak 

Matteo Trentin is the latest rider to leave CCC Team as the Polish WorldTour squad is still looking for sponsorship.

The squad has been struggling to find a replacement after its main backer announced it will be pulling out due to the financial uncertainty caused by coronavirus.

While team boss Jim Ochowicz is still searching for a new headline sponsor, his big name riders have been busy negotiating contracts with other outfits.

As star rider Greg Van Avermaet is leaving for AG2R La Mondiale, Italian sprinter Matteo Trentin will also be leaving CCC. 

Trentin said: “First of all I have unfinished business at the World Championships and I would like to go one better there than last year. 

“Then there’s Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. I would also like to aim for the green jersey at the Tour de France, obviously while still working towards the overall classification objectives of the team.” 

Trentin, 31, has built a hugely impressive palmaès as a versatile sprinter, with three Tour de France stage victories and four in the Vuelta a España while riding for Quick-Step and Mitchelton-Scott. 

Last season he came within inches of victory in the World Championships in Yorkshire, heading to the line as the favourite to take the sprint victory but missing out to Mads Pedersen.  

UAE Team Emirates principal Mauro Gianetti said: “Matteo is a strong reinforcement for our team, particularly in view of our classics roster. He has proved that he is a very versatile rider across many types of races, and has a great turn of speed. We like his way of racing and his winning mentality. I am convinced that he will integrate very well into the team.”

CCC Team are suffering a rough 2020 season, when in June Ochowicz confirmed Polish shoe company CCC would be pulling out due to its own financial uncertainty caused by coronavirus.  

The team, formerly BMC Racing, have also struggled for results this year and are yet to win a WorldTour race in 2020, before or after lockdown, although the team did dominate the 2.1-ranked Tour de Hongrie this month.

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Ochowicz is now considering setting up a new team below WorldTour level.