Mike Teunissen will ride for Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert in 2023 after signing a two-year contract with the team. The Dutchman leaves Jumbo-Visma after a four-season spell that included victory on the opening stage of the 2019 Tour de France.
The signing of Teunissen was announced shortly after it was confirmed that Alexander Kristoff would leave Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert at the end of this season to join Uno-X and the transfer season opened on August 1.
Teunissen will line up alongside Gent-Wevelgem winner Biniam Girmay at the head of Intermarché’s Classics squad next season, and he will also serve as part of the Eritrean’s sprint lead-out.
“The complete package is appealing. The structure and management is good and I was offered an attractive role for the Spring Classics,” Teunissen said.
“I want to shine in the finals and create opportunities for the team in the shadow of Biniam Girmay, who has already proven that he can win the most important races. Next to the Classics, I’m also looking forward to support Girmay in the sprint.”
While Jumbo-Visma have lost Teunissen, the Dutch squad is expected to add to its Classics unit by confirming the arrival of Dylan van Baarle from Ineos.
Wielerflits has reported that Wilco Kelderman will move back to the team from Bora-Hansgrohe, while Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious) and Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ) have also been linked with moves to the team. Talented 20-year-old British rider Tom Gloag is also expected to join the Dutch team from the Trinity Cycling development squad.
After winning the under-23 cyclo-cross Worlds in 2013, Teunissen turned professional with what was then LottoNL-Jumbo in 2015. He had a two-year spell with Sunweb in 2017 and 2018 before he returned to the burgeoning Jumbo-Visma set-up in 2019.
That season, Teunissen wore yellow at the Tour and won both the Four Days of Dunkirk and the ZLM Tour, while also performing strongly at the cobbled Classics. He would later serve as a key support for Wout van Aert, though he missed the 2021 Classics campaign after a pre-season training crash.
“Within Jumbo-Visma I raced alongside guys like Wout Van Aert and Dylan Groenewegen, witnessing how the team grew to one of the world’s best structures," he explained.
"This experience will probably be valuable in my new team Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert. However, the main change for me is that I will get the opportunity again to show my value in a prominent role.
“My most recent victories are my Tour de France stage wins. Wearing the yellow jersey in Brussels and in Binche was an absolute high in my career and I can’t wait to experience similar moments again.”
Teunissen will be reunited with his former Sunweb directeur sportif Aike Visbeek at Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, who is helping lift the Belgian team's performances.
“He is a nice guy to work with and will definitely form a good combination with Biniam Girmay and Adrien Petit in our team for the Classics,” said Visbeek.
“His choice of our team confirms our ambition for the Classics.”
