An injured Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Edvald Boasson Hagen's agent has revealed that there is only a 50 per cent chance that the Norwegian rider will stay at Team Sky for 2015, with several teams, including Fernando Alonso's new team, apparently interested in securing his services, despite a lack of results in the recent cobbled Classics.
According to the Verdens Gang newspaper, Boasson Hagen hopes to have his future secured before the Tour de France. It is not clear if he will be part of Team Sky's squad for this year's Tour and Boasson Hagen has recently told Procycling.no that he hopes to ride the Giro d'Italia after Team Sky opted not to send a team to this year's Tour of Norway (May 21-25).
Birger Hungerholdt told Verdens Gang that Boasson Hagen is happy at Team Sky but listed the criteria any new team has to offer his client. These included peace of mind, good teammates, an English speaking team, a good programme and the chance to ride for himself in some races.
"There are many teams that have shown interest. We've an ongoing dialogue with some of them," Hungerholdt told Verdens Gang.
Boasson Hagen has been a cornerstone of Team Sky since the creation of the team in 2010. He has won 19 races with the team, including the Eneco Tour, the Vattenfall Cyclassics race, the GP Ouest France-Plouay and two stages at the 2011 Tour de France. However he has struggled to be competitive in the major Classics.
Targeting the Giro d'Italia
With Team Sky's squad expected to be built around Chris Froome and his hopes of a second Tour de France victory, Boasson Hagen knows he faces a battle to secure one of the nine places in the team. Hence the idea of riding the Giro d'Italia. Boasson Hagen pulled out of last year's Tour de France after stage 12 after fracturing his shoulder in a crash.
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Success in Italy in May and further UCI ranking points would also help his contract talks. With Richie Porte no longer targeting the Giro d'Italia, Boasson Hagen would have the freedom to target stage victories and the points jersey.
"I'm not out of the Tour de France discussions but I have to, like all the other riders, perform well to be in the final selection," Boasson Hagen told Procycling.no.
"I want to ride the Giro, so that's my plan now. The final selection is not ready yet, but I hope to ride."
Although Boasson Hagen is not listed on Team Sky's website for Sunday's Amstel Gold Race he has told Norwegian television that he will ride the hilly one-day Classics before taking a break and preparing for the Giro d'Italia.
Boasson Hagen finished second behind Philippe Gilbert when the 2012 world road race championships finished on the top of the Cauberg climb that also hosts the finish of the Amstel Gold Race.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
