09 December 2022

Emmanuel Hubert: "Andrii Ponomar, a promise and a story »

Andrii Ponomar will be the 29th rider in the Arkéa-Samsic team for the 2023 season. The young Ukrainian was crowned elite champion of his country in 2021.

Andrii Ponomar

Signing for the Arkéa-Samsic team is a great moment for me because I am joining a UCI WorldTour team. It will give me the opportunity, from 2023 onwards, to discover some of the big races on the professional calendar. My career plan has always been to race these events with the aim of getting the best results possible. I am still a young rider – and even though I have already had the opportunity to race two Giro d’Italia – I still consider myself to be in a learning phase. I think I can make podiums, win races in the pros, and I hope to do so next season, but it will probably not be at UCI WorldTour level yet, more in lower level races. In any case, this is one of the objectives I want to set for 2023. I am a climber-puncher-roller. Indeed I can pass the 7 to 10 kilometre passes well. I also have time trial skills, a discipline that I like and that suits me. This can allow me to aim for good places in the stage races”.

Emmanuel Hubert, General Manager

“Andrii Ponomar is only 20 years old and is one of the most promising riders in professional cycling. He has already distinguished himself in Brittany, notably in the Trophée Centre Morbihan, winning a stage in the 2019 edition. Nugget in the junior ranks, with also a success in the difficult and famous Ruëbliland, he was also crowned European champion in this age category, one year after Remco Evenepoël. In the pro category, despite his very young age of 20, he has already competed in two Giro d’Italia, a race that he finished in 67th place overall in 2021. In the same season he won the Ukrainian national elite road title. If Andrii is a promising rider, his human story is also strong, as his mother and sister who were forced to leave the war-torn Ukraine, live by his side in Italy, while his father is at the front to safeguard the freedom of their country which has been invaded for months. The strength of character that Andrii Ponomar shows in the face of such a situation has moved us all. We have great respect for him”.