CCC Team is believed to be beefing up its roster for 2020 with Giro d’Italia stage winner Fausto Masnada as incoming Bahrain-Merida boss Rod Ellingworth is expected to welcome new riders to the squad.
The UCI’s August 1 opening day of transfers is approaching but behind the curtains teams, riders and agents are signing deals.
Those contracts will only be made official and pubic on August 1 or after.
CCC Team has signed Italian Fausto Masnada from Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, multiple sources confirmed to Cycling Weekly. He won two stages in the Tour of the Alps and the San Giovanni Rotondo stage at the Giro d’Italia.
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The 25-year-old from Bergamo raced the last three years with Androni and is considered mainly a general classification rider.
Masnada will makes the move with Russian Ilnur Zakarin, coming from Katusha-Alpecin. Zakarin has won two stages in the Giro, including one this year to Lago Serrù, a stage in the Tour de France and placed third overall in the Vuelta a España.
Long-time Team Ineos coach Rod Ellingworth is on the move to Bahrain-Merida, having worked with the likes of Geraint Thomas and Mark Cavendish in the past.
Team Ineos announced Ellingworth would leave but Bahrain-Merida has yet to confirm the deal. Ellingworth is set to become the team principal.
“I find it strange that another team announces that he is joining our team,” John Allert, the Managing Director of McLaren Cycling, told Cycling Weekly.
“We are 12th now or so on the team rankings, so it’s clear we are going to make changes to become the best. You look at other teams, they have layers of riders coming through, and we need that.”
Any signatures may be held up as currently Brent Copeland is the team manager and responsible for signing off contracts with the UCI governing body.
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Vincenzo Nibali is expected to leave Bahrain-Merida for Trek-Segafredo. However, Ellingworth’s new team is thought to be signing Mikel Landa from Movistar, a source said. Also, according to Marca newspaper, Pello Bilbao (Astana) – winner of two Giro stages this year – and José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar) will join Bahrain-Merida.
Dane Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) could join Movistar, according to Marca. He won the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2017 and this spring, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. In July, he will lead Astana at the Tour de France.
Astana, according to a few different sources, will bring in Mattia Cattaneo from Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec. The Italian won the Giro dell’Appennino this spring and placed second behind Dario Cataldo, currently with Astana, in the Giro d’Italia 2019 Como stage.
