Argentinean sprinter takes the place left by Canadian David Boily after contract negotiations failed
Lucas Sebastian Haedo has become the eighth rider to transfer to Cannondale Pro Cycling for 2013, the team has confirmed. The Argentinean sprinter has spent the last three years at Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, along with elder brother Juan Jose, but neither has had his contract renewed by the Danish team.
Haedo took several top ten finishes in 2012, including fifth place in the 18th stage of the Giro d’Italia, and was part of the then Saxo Bank team that finished fourth in the race’s team time trial.
As well as losing principle sponsor Liquigas at the end of the season – prompting bike supplier and co-sponsor Cannondale to step – the Italian team also bids farewell to 2010 Vuelta a España winner Vincenzo Nibali and a number of other high profile riders, including American Timmy Duggan, who replaces Haedo at Saxo Bank.
The team holds onto two-time Giro d’Italia winner Ivan Basso, however, along with Slovakian sensation Peter Sagan.
Haedo will join Sagan, Guillaume Boivin – who joins from Spidertech p/b C10 – and Elia Viviani as one of the team’s sprint specialists. As well as Haedo and Boivin, the team has re-signed Australian Cameron Wurf, who spent 2012 at Champion System – Boivin’s Danish teammate Brian Vandborg, Italian Alessandro De Marchi from Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela, Germany Michel Koch, Japanese Nariyuki Masuda, and Austrian Matthias Krizek, who spent the end of this season as a stagiaire with the team.
Specifically, Haedo will take the place in the team’s roster that was to have been taken by Canadian David Boily – a third Spidertech p/b C10 rider – who was set to join, but failed to agree terms.
“Unfortunately Boily won’t be part of the team due to contractual disagreements at the moment to sign the contract,” Cannondale team press officer Paolo Barbieri confirmed to VeloNation.