Bahrain Victorious sign Sánchez and U23 time trial world champion
Spaniard to rack up 20 seasons as Price-Pejtersen breaks Uno-X contract to go WorldTour
Bahrain Victorious have announced two new signings for 2022, with a mixture of experience and youth in Spanish veteran Luis León Sánchez and the U23 time trial world champion, Johan Price-Pejtersen.
Sánchez, who turns 38 next month, joins on a two-year contract, which will take him up to 20 seasons as a professional.
He started his career at Liberty Seguros back in 2004 and rode for Movistar, Rabobank, and Caja Rural, before spending the past seven years at Astana.
He has clocked up around 50 wins, usually from breakaways or attacks on hilly days, and this season won the Prueba Villafranca.
"I’m really happy to race for team Bahrain over the next few seasons. It’s exciting to join this group of great cyclists and the vision to become one of the best teams in the world," Sánchez said.
"I am sure that with hard work, we will keep a level that has brought so much joy to the team this season."
Alongside Sánchez, the team announced the arrival of youngster and a highly-rated one in Price-Pejtersen.
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The 22-year-old Dane was considered one of the strongest time trialling prospects and put that beyond any doubt last month with back-to-back U23 titles at the European and World Championships.
Price-Pejtersen was already technically a professional, riding for Uno-X, and he had another year remaining on his contract with the Norwegian team, but has managed to cancel that in order to make the jump to the WorldTour.
"First of all, I want to thank my prior team, Uno-X Pro Cycling, for our collaboration working towards my development and reaching my goals. They have been a big factor putting me in a position to take the next step with Team Bahrain Victorious," he said.
"I’m extremely humbled and honoured to become a part of Team Bahrain Victorious. For me, their project and the team’s development is something I find truly exciting and interesting.
"I can’t wait to join the team as I’m sure it’s the perfect environment for my further personal development and, with this contributing to the greater collective as a team. Together, I hope we can reach big goals."
Sánchez and Price-Pejtersen are Bahrain Victorious’ second and third signings for 2022, following 22-year-old Polish neo-pro Filip Maciejuk. They have lost Marco Haller to Bora-Hansgrohe and Marcel Sieberg to retirement, but have recently extended with a swathe of their current roster, including Mikel Landa, Sonny Colbrelli, and Matej Mohorič.
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Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.