Ilnur Zakarin signs two-year contract at CCC Team
(Cyclingnews.com)

Russian Grand Tour specialist Ilnur Zakarin has signed a two-year deal with CCC Team. The 29-year-old has spent his entire WorldTour career with Katusha but the move to CCC Team has been on the cards for several months. Zakarin has been looking for a fresh start for some time and with Katusha unable to sign riders beyond this year due to their uncertain future, CCC Team have stepped in to take the former Vuelta a Espana podium finisher. The news of Zakarin´s arrival comes on the back of Matteo Trentin´s switch from Mitchelton-Scott to the Polish team. `This new contract with CCC Team is a new chapter in my life. Regardless of the fact that this season has been very intense, I am very excited and looking forward to the next one,` Zakarin said in a statement released by his team for 2020.ADVERTISEMENT `I really want to prove myself and show what I can do. Moreover, I am really happy that CCC Team´s 2020 roster will have strong climbers and we will try to get the highest possible results together. I don`t know what I can say more except I am looking forward to the final part of the season and then joining CCC Team and starting the new season together. It´s exciting to start a new chapter in my career and I think CCC Team will be a great fit for me as a rider.` Zakarin has won stages in both the Tour de France (2016) and the Giro d´Italia (2015 and 2019) but his best GC result came at the 2017 Vuelta, when he finished third behind Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali. Since then he has failed to mount a GC challenge over three weeks. He was 10th in the Giro d´Italia this year and won a stage from a break into Ceresole Reale but was off the pace at the Tour de France, eventually finishing 51st in Paris. Despite the low-key result Zakarin had nothing but praise for Katusha and his time on the squad. Transfer analysis You can read more at Cyclingnews.com