The Astana team of Tour de France Champion Alberto Contador signed Belgian Lorenzo Lapage as an additional Director Sportif yesterday afternoon at the team’s training camp in Pisa, Italy. Having worked with Discovery Channel in the past, Lapage signed a one-year contract with team manager Yvon Sanquer and Kazach Cycling Federation vice-president Nicolai Proskurin.
“I am really happy to return to the ProTour. Rock Racing was a nice adventure with Rudy Pevenage but this is what I always strived for. This is not a new world for me since I still know many people from my days at Discovery Channel,” said Lapage to Het Nieuwsblad.
“In my eyes Lapage is a great addition,” explained Astana’s manager Sanquer, “my team of five Director Sportifs is now full.”
With the departures of team manager Johan Bruyneel, and Director Sportifs Dirk Demol and Viatcheslav Ekimov, among others, to Lance Armstrong’s Team RadioShack, the Frenchman Sanquer had his hands full signing riders and new management staff.
The Belgian joins Russian Dimitri Sedun as Director Sportif to work alongside Italians Giuseppe Martinelli and Guido Bontempi. The 43-year-old Belgian signed for just one year, which puts him up for renewal when the team’s ProTour license expires at the end of the season.