After announcing the signing of Mark Cavendish on Tuesday, Astana Qazaqstan have confirmed that Cees Bol will also join the team for the 2023 season.
Like Cavendish, the Dutchman had agreed to join the B&B Hotels team before its collapse, and had been heavily linked with a move to Astana since December.
The former Team DSM rider reportedly joined Cavendish in visiting the team at the end of their December training camp, and again travelled to Spain at the start of this week to take part in their January camp. His signing, on a one-year contract, was announced on Wednesday.
In order to keep within the UCI maximum squad size of 30, Astana have had to drop Artyom Zakharov, a Kazakh rider who is said to now be focusing on the track and the 2024 Olympics.
"I feel really good coming to Astana Qazaqstan Team. Obviously, we are already at the beginning of the new year and for me, it is a great surprise that finally it ends in such a good way," said Bol.
"I am so happy that I am here in this great team, and I can focus on building up to the new goals together with Astana. My main goal for this season is to get back to winning, taking some sprint opportunities and fighting for a win in any kind of races.
"But of course, with Mark Cavendish now in the team, another big goal for me will be to help him to fight for success. I’d like to do some Classics to see how far I can reach together with the team. So, I am really looking forward to 2023."
Bol, 27, came through the Rabobank junior set-up before enjoying a strong U23 campaign with the SEG Racing set-up run by Martijn Berkhout, the rider agent who was recruited by Cavendish at the start of 2022. When deals for both to join B&B Hotels fell through, a package deal was agreed upon with Astana.
Bol has won six races across his four pro seasons to date, including a stage of Paris-Nice in 2021. He was also DSM's lead sprinter at the Tour de France in 2020 and 2021 but could only manage podium placings. He also has experience in the spring Classics.
"Cees Bol is a powerful sprinter and first of all we would like to see him next to Mark Cavendish helping him in the bunch sprint," said Astana boss Alexandr Vinokourov.
"However, we know that Cees is a strong rider, and he can deliver some good results by himself. So, it is another strengthening of our sprinter’s group, which takes a visible shape."
Zakharov steps aside
The last-minute signings of Cavendish and Bol would have brought Astana's number of riders to 31, meaning they had to drop a rider to make room. That has turned out to be Artyom Zakharov, whose departure was announced a few hours before Bol's signing.
The 31-year-old already had a light road racing programme in the past two years and has his sights set on the track and the 2024 Olympics. He will drop to Astana's development squad, where he will still have opportunities to represent the WorldTour team.
"This year is very important for me, as I have to participate in the qualifying competitions to gain the necessary points to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris," said Zakharov.
"As a preparation for track competitions, a road base is also needed, and our development team offers a simpler, but at the same time high-quality and convenient calendar, which suits me more than the WorldTour calendar, with which track competitions and, in particular, World Cups will overlap too often.
"Therefore, in agreement with the management of Astana Qazaqstan Team, I decided to spend 2023 together with our development team and, accordingly, Kazakhstan National Track Team."
