Vuelta Espana, stage win at the Tour de San Luis, KOM jersey at the Tour of Croatia and a real challenger at the Dutch time trial championships. The list of Peter Koning's achievements could easily be continued and this is what it makes the more pleasing that he will decisively strengthen BIKE AID from 2019, both with his experience and his abilities as a rider.
"We already announced that we would deliberately reinforce ourselves in the top end of the squad. The signing of Peter Koning marks another stepstone for us when it comes to the further development of the team. His abilities as a rouleur and time-trial qualities will further strengthen our sprint train massively and our sprinters are already looking forward to the opportunities Peter will open up to them ", says Lutz Drehkopf (Sporting Director at BIKE AID).
But it is also another signal that further underlines the ongoing of the positive developments of recent years. For the first time a rider with such experience and history from Grand Tours and World Tour races sings with BIKE AID and deliberately chooses the team from Germany, as well as the project behind the team: "I have been watching the development of BIKE AID for two years, since Adne van Engelen moved there. What I have seen is certainly impressive, how they have managed to form such a homogeneous team. In addition, the team offers more than just cycling. It's about an overall goal (the targeted promotion of athletes from developing countries; editor's note) and a brilliant story. For me, there was no question that if I did not continue on the World Tour or for a Pro Continental Team, I deliberately wanted to do something different and with BIKE AID I could make a difference through my sport", says Peter Koning.
Peter Koning will certainly become one of the "Capitaine de la Route" in the team and, with his experience, can make a decisive contribution to the further development of the riders from Africa.
"We are sure that with his qualities as a rider he will set some exclamation marks in the coming year. We are pleased to have found another piece of the puzzle with Peter that helps us to be able to make our results and performances - especially in the sprint – more planable ", concludes Timo Schäfer (Team Coordinator at BIKE AID).
Photo credits: Aqua Blue & DRAPAC
