Brent Copeland of Bahrain-Merida(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Bahrain-Merida team have confirmed the signing of young German sprinter Phil Bauhaus and veteran compatriot Marcel Sieberg - both on two-year deals - as they continue to expand their roster for 2019.
Bauhaus, 24, will move to Bahrain-Merida after two seasons at Team Sunweb. He won a stage at the 2017 Critérium du Dauphiné and a stage at this year’s Abu Dhabi Tour, beating fellow Germans Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin) and Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe).
"Phil is a rider whom we at team Bahrain Merida consider one of the most promising sprinters in the professional peloton," said general manager Brent Copeland.
"He is a rider that we have been considering closely for the past year and, therefore, we have put a lot of time investment to make this decision as we truly feel his future as a sprinter is something that will surprise the professional cycling world in the near future. We welcome him to the team and looking forward to a strong and good future together."
Bauhaus added: "I’m really looking forward to join Team Bahrain-Merida and I already feel that they believe in me with the project we are planning together. Together we can have successful years."
Sieberg will team up with Bauhaus after dedicating much of his career to helping André Greipel. The 36 year-old rode with Greipel at both HTC and Lotto Soudal, protecting and helping him in sprint lead outs as well as riding the same Classics campaign. Greipel confirmed he will move to French Professional Continental Fortuneo-Samsic after talks with Lotto Soudal broke down. Caleb Ewan is expected to replace Greipel as Lotto Soudal’s lead sprinter next season.
"Having Marcel as part of team Bahrain-Merida means bringing the wealth of experience, both on and off the bike. He is a rider who can bring an incredible amount of knowledge to the younger riders on the team," said Copeland.
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"His presence is something we are counting on immensely, especially for the lead out train for Phil Bauhaus, as we believe in his experience, has been a crucial part of this area on the team. Marcel has worked with the best riders in the world and we rate him as one of, if not the best, lead out rider for a sprint train, we are definitely excited about getting this work relationship going."
Sieberg added: "I‘m really looking forward to the next two years. It’s like a new beginning for me. Team Bahrain Merida is a great team with a lot of potential and I hope that I can help to make the team successful with my abilities."
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