Domenico Pozzovivo has signed a contract to race with Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux in 2022. The Italian was left without a team after Qhubeka-NextHash folded following a fruitless search for new financial backers.
Pozzovivo was one of five riders who had multi-year contracts with Qhubeka-NextHash and had hoped the team would find new sponsorship funding for 2022. However, that contract was rescinded upon the teams collapse.
A multiple top-10 finisher at the Giro d’Italia, Pozzovivo, 39, stated that while it would be difficult to find a new team in December, he indicated that he wanted to continue racing in 2022.
"I was really convinced that there was still time to make things right. At the moment I don't really know what to say or what to do," Pozzovivo told La Gazzetta dello Sport in December.
Although there has been no official announcement from Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, Pozzovivo's name was added to the team's roster on the UCI website.
A 15-year veteran of the sport, Pozzovivo brings ample experience to the Belgium-registered WorldTour team. He has competed across 21 Grand Tours, finishing six times inside the top-10 in the general classifications - five at the Giro d'Italia (2008, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2018) and once at the Vuelta a España (2013).
The Italian has also secured an overall win, and three stage wins, at the Giro del Trentino, along with third overall at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, and stage wins at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de Suisse.
A strong Classics contender, Pozzovivo has finished three times in the top-10 at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and twice at Il Lombardia, adding experience, depth and versatility to Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux.
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 2022
- Jan Bakelants
- Sven Erik Bystrøm
- Dimitri Claeys
- Aime de Gendt
- Tom Devriendt
- Biniam Girmay
- Kobe Goossens
- Quinten Hermans
- Jan Hirt
- Laurens Huys
- Julius Johansen
- Alexander Kristoff
- Louis Meintjes
- Andrea Pasqualon
- Barnabás Peák
- Simone Petilli
- Adrien Petit
- Baptiste Planckaert
- Domenico Pozzovivo (As of 2/14/22)
- Lorenzo Rota
- Rein Taaramäe
- Gerben Thijssen
- Taco van der Hoorn
- Corné van Kessel
- Kevin van Melsen
- Boy van Poppel
- Loïc Vliegen
- Georg Zimmermann
