2023-06-27 01:13:05
He was one of the most requested Frenchmen of the cycling transfer window this summer. Pavel Sivakov, one of the best tricolor riders in the peloton – the Russian by birth chose French sports nationality in March 2022 -, should support Tadej Pogacar next year. Sivakov is coming to the end of his contract with Ineos, ex-Sky, where he started as a professional in 2018 and with whom he notably won the Tour of Poland 2019 or the Tour of Burgos last.
Among the English, his ambition to help a leader win the Tour de France, which he has only competed in once, has faded. This year, Ineos will also present itself without a stated ambition for a final victory since Egan Bernal, winner of the 2019 Tour, will be aligned without having regained his level since the accident which almost cost him his life in early 2022. Rightly or wrongly , Sivakov believed he had gone around the question at Ineos. And, above all, according to his relatives, the sudden disappearance of the former sports director Nicolas Portal in 2020, with whom he was very close, then made him less fulfilled.
Over the past few months, Sivakov has received many offers. The most serious in France came from AG2R-Citroën. Vincent Lavenu was looking for a major French rider who could support the Australian Ben O’Connor on the Tour and shine on a few classics. At that time, Vincent Lavenu did not know if Benoît Cosnefroy, also at the end of his contract, was going to extend. Last I heard, that should be the case.
Jakobsen or Démare also on the start
But the financial proposal of Tadej Pogacar’s UAE team was superior to all the others anyway. The profile of the Frenchman is very popular with Mauro Giannetti, the manager of the Emirati formation and Tadej Pogacar, the double winner of the Tour in 2020 and 2021. Obviously, nothing will be official before August and the opening of the market for transfers. An almost laughable date insofar as, from now on, everything is discussed and signed under the coat between spring and the beginning of summer.
At UAE, Pavel Sivakov would therefore be one of Pogacar’s lieutenants on the Tour or Paris-Nice for example. While receiving authorization to express themselves on Ardennes classics such as the Amstel-Gold Race or even Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He could thus follow the example of his compatriot Christophe Laporte, who last year moved from Cofidis to Jumbo-Visma. And who took on a new dimension in the service of Van Aert while filling his prize list with prestigious successes such as a stage in the Tour de France or Ghent-Wevelgem.
In the coming weeks, other names could animate the cycling transfer window. Like that of sprinter Fabio Jakobsen announced at DSM or Arnaud Démare, at the end of his contract at Groupama-FDJ and injured by his non-selection for the Tour and who is discussing in particular with the Arkéa-Samsic team.
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