After a season spent with Bahrain-Victorious, Luis Leon Sanchez signed a new one-year contract with Astana Qazaqstan.
Astana confirmed that Sanchez will be back for 2023 after riding with Alexandr Vinokourov’s squad from 2015-2021 before he switched to Bahrain-Victorious for 2022.
“I am incredibly happy to return to the Astana team, in fact, to return home. I have great feelings, having signed a contract with the team again, for me it is a great joy and a huge motivation,” Sanchez said.
“I want to thank Alexandr Vinokurov and the entire management for this opportunity. It happened that at the end of the last year we had to part ways, but I used this season as productively as possible, I worked hard, gained new experience, tried to improve professionally.”
“We all know Luis Leon Sanchez very well; we know his strengths and capabilities. He is a great team rider, a great assistant and a true professional. It was a pity to lose such a reliable rider last year, but that’s how the circumstances turned out. And now, I am very happy that there is an opportunity to invite him back to the team, to sign a contract with him,” Vinokourov said.
“You can rely on Sanchez in any race, you can be sure that he will give 100 percent for the sake of achieving team goals. Therefore, I can only add ‘welcome home, Luis Leon.’”
Bahrain-Victorious lost 4 riders, with Slovenian duo Jan Tratnik and Domen Novak going to Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates, while Stephen Williams does not yet have a team for 2023.
