"Crocodile Man" to T-Mobile

By Susan Westemeyer

Australian Adam Hansen has signed with German T-Mobile for the coming season. The team has not yet confirmed the transfer but Hansen told Cyclingnews that he signed the contract and sent it back to the team. Hansen, 26, has ridden for Austrian teams for the last few seasons, but is best known for being cycling's "Crocodile Man", having won Australia's Crocodile Trophy twice. The event has been described as "probably the hardest bike race on the planet," and Hansen said, "You can't explain the Crocodile Trophy, I wish I could but there are no words to explain it, it's a mental race. Its hard as hell, physically and mentally. It's a race that takes you so far out of your comfort zones, you wish you never signed the start sheet."

Hansen described himself as an all-rounder, who time trials and comes over the smaller hills well. He has been in contact with T-Mobile's team doctor, Lothar Heinrich, since 2004, and looks forward to his new challenge, saying "It's going to be great to be part of their new anti-doping campaign and with this type of mentality, it's going to make me very comfortable to join a ProTour team with this way of thinking. T-Mobile is now a role model for the other teams to follow and why would any rider not want to be part of something great that's going to help our sport?"

Watch out for an in-depth interview with Hansen on Cyclingnews in the next few days.