At their 2016 team presentation in Calpe, Spain, the team unveiled their new ambitions – and their new kit – with riders Joaquim Rodriguez and Alexander Kristoff set to lead the charge next year.
"We only missed a few points to be the number one team in the world and this gives us motivation to strive for more. We know we can do even better in 2016, in particular improving our team time trial skills. We are working on this by setting a clear target for 2016 – to be top 5 TTT at the World Championships," said team manager Viacheslav Ekimov.
The Russian outfit have bolstered their stage racing pedigree with Rodriguez set to be supported by new recruits Jurgen van den Broeck and Rein Taaramäe. Alexander Kristoff will lead the line in the sprints and the Spring Classics, after another hugely successful season for the Norwegian road rider.
"We are again ambitious for overall podiums in GT races, having guys like Rodríguez, Van den Broeck and Taaramäe. And of course we have a super train for our absolute leader Alexander Kristoff, hopefully resulting in more wins in one-day WorldTour races or stages," added Ekimov.
The riders were presented in Calpe adorning their new race kit for 2016. The revamped lycra turns away from previous Katusha designs and includes a predominant 'K' in the centre of the chest.
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Along with showing off the new jersey, the team confirmed that they would race the Amgen Tour of California next May, for the first time.
"I am sure that our team has not reached its maximum yet," said the usually press shy team owner, Igor Makarov.
"We all, of course, are waiting for new highs in the new season," he added.
Team Katusha roster in 2016: Maxim Belkov, Sven Erik Bystrøm, Sergei Chernetckii, Jacopo Guarnieri, Marco Haller, Vladimir Isaychev, Pavel Kochetkov, Dmitriy Kozonchuk, Alexander Kristoff, Viacheslav Kuznetsov, Sergey Lagutin, Alberto Losada, Tiago Machado, Matvey Mamykin, Michael Mørkøv, Nils Politt, Aleksandr Porsev, Jhonatan Restrepo, Joaquim Rodríguez, Egor Silin, Simon Špilak, Rein Taaramäe, Alexey Tsatevich, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Angel Vicioso, Eduard Vorganov, Anton Vorobyev, and Ilnur Zakarin.
