Specialized confirmed as Bora-Hansgrohe bicycle sponsor with three-year deal

Following the announcement that Peter Sagan and four Tinkoff teammates are moving to the German Bora-Hansgrohe squad from 2017 on a three-year deal, American bicycle company Specialized has confirmed a deal of the same length. Specialized will replace Argon 18 as the bicycle sponsor with the Canadian company taking over its former sponsorship of the Astana team.

Having ridden Specialized sine his move to the Tinkoff team in 2015, the current world champion continues his association to at least 2019 much to the delight of CEO and founder, Mike Sinyard.

"Peter is a very special athlete, not only because of his great charisma and desire to use his platform in cycling to raise awareness for larger issues of the world, but also because he simply loves to ride his bike; from road racing, to cross-country, to fun riding on the Turbo Levo pedal-assist, Peter does it all," Sinyard said in a release. "Everyone at Specialized shares Peter's love of all-things-cycling and we could not be more honored to continue our partnership with him, into the future."

Sagan's move to the current Pro-Continental team from 2017, known as Bora-Argon 18 this season, was assisted by Specialized. The deal also allows the 26-year-old to continue racing mountain bikes, he will represent Slovakia at the 2016 Rio Games, to complement his road racing.

Further signings are expected by the team in the coming weeks. For Cyclingnews' guide to 2016-17 transfers, click here.