Koen Bouwman will leave Visma-Lease a Bike at the end of this season to join Jayco-Alula. The two-time Giro d'Italia stage winner has signed a two-year contract with the Australian team, who have already confirmed the arrival of Ben O’Connor from Decathlon-AG2R.
“Within this team, I can fulfil my dreams and own ambitions which I still strongly have,” Bouwman said in a statement released on Thursday. “After being in a team where general classification was the most important part of every race, I would like to race aggressively and on the offensive again.”
Bouwman has spent his entire career with Visma, having turned professional in 2016. He was a mainstay of their Giro squad for much of that time. After placing 12th overall in the race in 2021, he claimed two stage victories and the king of the mountains title the following year.
That success appeared to mark a breakthrough for Bouwman, who had won a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné earlier in his career. Despite his aptitude as a climber, however, he was never included in the Visma line-up for the Tour de France. He claimed the overall title at the Settimana Coppi e Bartali this season, but Bouwman later missed out on riding the Giro after falling ill at the Tour de Romandie.
“Racing Grand Tours and being part of a long and intense preparation is what I love the most about cycling,” Bouwman said. “Being away for a long time on the road with a group and sharing all the good and bad moments together is something I like. I have done nine Grand Tours so far but never the Tour de France, which is high on my list to race one day.”
Bouwman is the fourth new signing confirmed by Jayco-Alula for 2024 after O’Connor, neo-professional Hamish McKenzie and British rider Paul Double, who joins from Polti-Kometa.
“Koen is a great addition for us,” said Jayco-AlUla general manager Brent Copeland. “He will be a strong domestique for GC riders like Ben O’Connor and we know he has the experience, after working with GC riders at Team Visma. Bouwman is will not only fit into that role, but he will also have the opportunity to get results for himself in the smaller one-week races.”
Simon Yates, who has led the line for the team at Grand Tours for much of the past decade, has confirmed that he will leave the team at the end of this season to join Visma-Lease a Bike.
