Anders Lund (Saxo Bank)(Image credit: Franklin Tello)
Mountains classification leader Martin Mortensen (Vacansoleil) (Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
The day-long breakaway contained Giampaolo Cheula (Footon-Servetto), Tom Stamsnijder (Rabobank), Michael Barry (Sky) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha).(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project revealed the signing of three more riders as the new team moves ever closer to completing its 25-rider roster for 2011.
The team is widely expected to secure Fabian Cancellara after he opted to buy his way out of his contract with Saxo Bank. However, there is still no confirmation on the time trial world champion joining his former teammates at the Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project.
The team's latest signings are young Danish riders Anders Lund and Martin Mortensen and Dutchman Tom Stamsnijder.
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"Anders Lund is a great rider who just keeps improving," Team Manager Kim Andersen said in a statement issued by the team. "We debated a long time about where his strengths lay, but judging by his impressive climbing in the Giro and the stupendous support he gave to Frank Schleck in the Spanish mountains during the 2010 Vuelta, I honestly think Anders will become a great Grand Tour climber."
"Martin is a good strong rider in the Classics and has made a lot of progress this past season. He is only 25 and is already a good rider with a lot of room for growth."
"Tom (Stamsnijder) loves the Classics and I think he can develop into a great Classics rider," Andersen said. "He is only 25 and is most definitely on his way up, but he is also a team player so his ambitions will certainly coincide with the goals of the team."
Both Stamsnijder and Mortensen hope to play a key role in the Luxembourg's Classics squad.
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"I want to grow as a professional and improve things like my time trialling, but most importantly I want to prove my worth to the team by helping out throughout the season," Stamsnijder said.
Mortensen said, "I like to pull hard all day at the front of the peloton and in so doing open up the chance for one of the leaders to win. I think races like the Spring Classics are where I can get some personal results, but riding for a winning team in a Grand Tour is also a big goal for me; with the general classification riders that we have, I feel that it is something we will be able to accomplish."
Lund hopes to get a ride in the Tour de France. "I'm extremely excited about joining the team for next year. During this past year I really felt a big improvement on the bike, and I am sure that the new team is the perfect place for me to become even better," he said.
"Every bike rider wants to do the Tour and to be strong there, myself included. But it is going to be an extremely strong team next year and therefore really difficult to be selected for the Tour squad. I hope is to continue my development and then we can see where I stand in July next year."
The Luxembourg Cycling Project has now confirmed the signing of 24 riders including Andy Schleck and his brother Fränk, Jens Voigt, Stuart O'Grady, Linus Gerdemann, Fabian Wegmann, Jakob Fuglsang, Brice Feillu, Maxime Monfort and Daniele Bennati.
The team was recently ranked top of the sporting hierarchy by the UCI for 2011 thanks to points scored by its powerful line-up of riders.
The team will hold its official presentation in early January.
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).
