Lombardia champs leaves Luxembourg team to join Alberto Contador
Oliver Zaugg (RadioShack-Nissan) will ride for Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank next season according to Spanish website BiciCiclismo. Team owner Bjarne Riis has previously stated he is reluctant to announce new signings as their current teams could stop them from racing and scoring points which would benefit Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank next season. The team itself has not made this announcement public.
Zaugg has had a relatively quiet season on the Luxembourg-registered squad gaining his best result in recent weeks, fifth place on stage four of the USA Pro Cycling challenge.
His only individual professional victory came last season when he surprised a strong field during the Giro di Lombardia to win the monument finishing ahead of Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale).
Zaugg started out his professional career with Saunier Duval-Prodir (2004-2006) then moved onto Gerolsteiner (2007-2008), Liquigas (2009-2010) and Leopard Trek (2011).
Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank is in the process of adding to its team to support Alberto Contador and keep its place in the WorldTour. The team has confirmed signing Nicolas Roche from AG2R La Mondiale and Marko Kump from Adria Mobil, the current leader in the UCI Europe Tour Ranking.
Other riders who have been linked with a move to the team include Matti Breschel (Rabobank), Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan) and Roman Kreuziger (Astana). However, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank has not confirmed any of these.