Astana bring Michele Gazzoli back after doping ban - transfer news

Michele Gazzoli will return to the WorldTour with Astana Qazaqstan after being sacked by the team and given a a one-year suspension by the UCI for an anti-doping rule violation in 2022, signing on a two-year deal.

The 24-year-old Italian avoided a lengthier ban by arguing the banned stimulant found in his doping control sample taken on February 17, 2022, during the Volta ao Algarve came from an over-the-counter decongestant.

Gazzoli came back from his ban and technically was racing for the Astana development team when he won a stage of the Arctic Race of Norway on his second day back in the peloton. He went on to win a stage of the Tour of Bulgaria with the devo team and competed in the Tour of Slovakia, three of the late-season Italian one-day races and the Tour of Turkey with the WorldTour team.

"I am very happy to re-sign a contract with Astana Qazaqstan Team. This team gave me an opportunity to revive after a difficult period, and for me, this project is like a family that believed in me and did a lot to ensure that I was able to return to high results," Gazzoli said in the team's press release.

"In the next two years, I will try to do everything possible to repay the team with victories and podiums for believing in me and the chance I got. As a part of Astana and in the jersey of this team, I feel great motivation and desire to work for the sake of our success together."

Manager Alexandr Vinokourov said Gazzoli deserves another chance and that he had proven himself in the last three months of the year, both with his results and his support of Alexey Lutsenko in Turkey.

"Michele has potential both in one–day races and in short stage races, he can also be an excellent assistant for the team leaders, both in sprints and on hilly stages," Vinokourov said.

The team also announced they have extended the contract of Christian Scaroni.

Liepiņš and Julius van den Berg sign with Team dsm-firmenich

Team dsm-firmenich have added two riders for 2024, bringing lead-out man Emils Liepiņš in from Lidl-Trek and Julius van den Berg from EF Education-EasyPost to bolster support of sprinter Fabio Jakobsen.

Liepiņš, 31, is a two-time Latvian national champion who spent most of his career in Continental teams before getting a break in 2018, winning Heistse Pijl and the Baltic Chain Tour, earning him first a contract with the Wallonie-Bruxelles ProTeam in 2019 and then Trek-Segafredo, where he has been for the past four seasons.

Team dsm-firmenich coach Rudi Kemna feels the Latvian's experience would be a valuable asset for the sprint train. "Yet, we think that he still has a lot of untapped potential in both the lead-outs and as a sprint finisher himself. Working with our group of experts and trainers, we hope to get that next bit out of him where he can then play an important part within our lead-out, utilising his speed and power to deliver our finishers in a great spot. Next to this, we will also give him the opportunity to go for results with the team as a finisher in some races, too."

Julius van den Berg arrives after competing with EF-EasyPost since his neo-pro days. A winner of a Tour de Pologne stage in 2021, Van den Berg has supported the team in five Grand Tours.

"Julius is a really strong rider who knows what he wants and expects from not only himself but those around him," Kemna said. "He has a strong engine and will add a lot of horsepower to the engine room of our team. Julius will play an important role in support of our finishers and is someone who can help to control the race and create different race scenarios that will be in our favour as we hunt for more success next season."

In other transfer news, Jakub Mareczko signed with Corratec-Selle Italia from Alpecin-Deceuninck. The prolific sprinter has won a total of 50 races, including 18 stages of the Tour of Taihu Lake and overall twice, seven stages of the Tour of Hainan, four in Langkawi, three in the Tour of Qinghai Lake, three in Tour de Hongrie, two each in the Tour of Turkey and ZLM Tour.

"I am very happy to become part of Team Corratec – Selle Italia," Mareczko said. "For me, it feels like coming home. I already know some of the guys here, and I just want to sincerely thank the entire team for the trust they have placed in me. I promise to give my best to repay the trust".