Former Danish Road Race Champion Allan Johansen will leave the ProTour's Team CSC squad after next season's spring classics and ride out the year with European Continental Team Designa Køkken outfit. Paris-Roubaix will be the Dane from Silkeborg's last race before switching teams.
"The last race will be Paris-Roubaix and I'm okay with that," said 2006 national champion Johansen. "I'm happy to get the option to ride the rest of the season with Team Designa Køkken. The team has developed enormously over the last couple of years.
The 36 year-old, who turned professional in 1998, has taken victory for Team CSC at the Sachsen Tour's Stage 4 in 2005 followed by the Tour de Luxembourg's Stage 1 and Grand Prix Herning in 2006. Johansen spent the first two years of his career with Team Chicky World before moving to MemoryCard – Jack & Jones for a season. The Dane then moved to Team Fakta for three years, Bankgiroloterij for a year, before spending the past three years at Team CSC.
"What happens after that, I haven't decided yet," added Johansen. "I'll have a leading role with Team Designa Køkken where I am going to help develop the young talents."
Team Designa Køkken manager Christian Andersen is very satisfied with the signing, which will see the Danish champions from 2006 and 2007 both riding for the Danish team in 2008.
"Of course we'd liked to have Allan Johansen the entire season, but [we always] want more," he said. "If we look at Team Designa Køkken next year, there's no doubt that we'll be dominating in national, as well as international, races, as we've been in 2007.
"The team is more or less intact, and has now been supplemented with the Danish champions from 2006 Allan Johansen, and earlier we signed with Alex Rasmussen, who was the Danish road race champion in 2007," he added. "I'm really looking forward to 2008 already."
The all Danish Team Designa Køkken squad will have 16 riders in 2008, with the final signing expected to be announced in the near future.
Team Designa Køkken for 2008: Allan Johansen, Kasper Jebjerg, Jakob Fuglsang, Andreas Frisch, Michael Reihs, Michael Tronborg, Jens-Erik Madsen, Jakob Bering, Rene Jørgensen, Alex Rasmussen, Ricky Enø, Martin Mortensen, Thomas Oredsson and the two brothers, Thomas and Rasmus Guldhammer.
