The world’s top cycling teams have underlined their commitment to the Hammer Series by appointing “Hammer Captains” who will fight for victory on the roads and on social media.
Each of the teams participating in this year’s Hammer Series events has appointed a dedicated Hammer Captain. These riders will be their team’s figurehead, taking on the role of leader while battling it out during the Hammer Climbs, Sprints and Chases and as team ambassador when not in the saddle.
Hammer Captains will bang the team drum and generate support among fans by providing exclusive content on social media and will lead their team’s cheering even if they’re not participating in a Hammer race by providing insight into their colleagues’ performance.
Today, we name the first five Hammer Captains of this year’s Hammer Series:
Alexander Kristoff | UAE Team Emirates
Brenton Jones | Delko Marseille Provence
Cameron Meyer | Mitchelton-SCOTT
Tim Wellens | Lotto Soudal
Tom Dumoulin | Team Sunweb
The remaining captains will be revealed over the next couple of weeks.
“I can’t wait to start playing my role as Hammer Captain in my home town of Stavanger. I’m so lucky that the Hammer Series takes place in my lovely city and I feel that no other teams will be as motivated as UAE Team Emirates.”
“The Hammer Series is an exciting event because it showcases some of the best riders in a unique style of racing. We will be looking to animate the racing and try to show our colours at the front of the race. I’m excited!”
“We always went to Hammer races with a really motivated group and we really wanted to perform well – that’s what you have to be at the Hammer Series because you don’t have time to settle in. Last year, we got a really good taste for that winning success and we found some good tactics for how we can win the event. This year, we won’t be resting on our laurels of last year, we are super motivated, we have a good squad and we think we can defend our title.”
“I am looking forward to being our Hammer Captain this year! I really love this concept of fast and explosive racing. So far, we haven’t succeeded in winning the Hammer Series but now, we have Caleb Ewan and Roger Kluge on our team. They were both part the winning team last year and they will add significant firepower to our roster. We will fight hard for victory in the Hammer Series this year!”
“We are all really excited about this year’s Hammer Series. The racing is so intense and the format is super exciting for us riders and for the fans watching at home. Last year, we were pretty close and this year we are even more motivated to knock Mitchelton-SCOTT off the top spot and show them who has the best team!
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The first Hammer event in 2019 takes place in Stavanger from May 24-26, while the next one follows in Limburg from June 7-9.
Hong Kong hosts the final event from October 12-13. All races will be available to watch online worldwide.