INEOS Grenadiers, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Astana Qazaqstan Team: Mike Teunissen shares insight into his hectic transfer saga

Mike Teunissen’s anticipated return to Team Visma | Lease a Bike fell through, but the 32-year-old is now fully committed to his new role at Astana Qazaqstan Team. In an interview with WielerFlits, Teunissen emphasised his desire to focus on the future rather than dwelling on past events.

The Limburg native was candid about his reluctance to revisit the circumstances surrounding the failed transfer. "That is also the right thing to do for my new team, who have every confidence in me and I would like to repay that," he stated. “What I can say about that is that I don’t really feel like going into that now,” he added.

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“That would be the tone of the entire interview and I don’t think that’s fair to my new employer. I’m very happy with the trust and enthusiasm expressed by the people at XDS Astana. I value that a lot. Together with them, I’m looking forward to the future. That’s why I’d like to talk about XDS Astana and not about things from the past.”

Teunissen made a conscious decision to join the team led by Aleksandr Vinokourov, despite opportunities to remain with Intermarché-Wanty or potentially move to INEOS Grenadiers. He highlighted the ambitious environment at Astana Qazaqstan as a key factor in his decision.

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“XDS Astana is a team that is under pressure and where there is a huge challenge. But also one where the resources have grown towards next year. Not only financially, but also in terms of sporting, enormous steps have been taken. That story appealed to me and I see a great opportunity in that. I wanted to get on board with that,” Teunissen explained.

While INEOS Grenadiers expressed genuine interest in Teunissen, circumstances surrounding Tom Pidcock left Teunissen in a waiting position, prompting him to prioritise certainty with Astana. “INEOS Grenadiers was also really interested, but I was in the waiting room because of the situation with Tom Pidcock,” he revealed.