Cyclocross triple World Champion Wout van Aert has confirmed his move to the WorldTour a year earlier than planned, joining Team Jumbo-Visma from 1st March 2019.
The Belgian was scheduled to join the Dutch team in 2020 but will join a year early having terminated his contract with former team Sniper Cycling.
The 24-year-old was due to race in 2019 for the Sniper Cycling outfit yet tore up his contract as concerns grew over the team's future, effectively trying to force an early move into the WorldTour.
The move left Van Aert a free agent, and he raced part of the cyclocross season without a team as he looked to fast-track his deal with Team Jumbo-Visma a season early.
Sniper Cycling has since secured its own future, merging with Dutch ProContinental team Roompot.
Initially, Team Jumbo-Visma were hesitant to make a move for Van Aert amid rumours that Sniper was considering taking the rider to court, but the UCI has settled the matter and granted Van Aert his move to Team Jumbo-Visma for the 2019 season.
Van Aert seems to have wasted no time in kickstarting his full-time transition to the road, having travelled to Spain this week to join his new teammates at a training camp. On his arrival, the rider commented on the move and the opportunities he hopes it will bring.
'I think I achieved great results last year and that’s why I had the opportunity to talk with different teams,' Van Aert said.
'At one point, Team Jumbo-Visma knocked on my door, a team that really appealed to me. Due to circumstances, I will be able to move up the ranks in 2019 already.
'It feels good that I can step up to the WorldTour, because I think I can develop myself a lot at that level.'
Team manager Richard Plugge also commented on the signing and the intentions to turn him into a dominant force in the Spring Classics.
'We were interested in Wout for 2020. Things have all gone faster than planned and we can welcome him to our team earlier. That’s very good news for the team, because we’re getting stronger,' said Plugge
'He’s a very big talent and we hope to be able to develop him into the classic rider we all see in him.'
The move will see Van Aert officially join his new team just in time to race the Spring Classics campaign, with the first cobbled race of the season, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, coming on Sunday 2nd March.
This will the young rider's second Classics campaign following a breakout 2018 season in which he gained a podium at Strade Bianche, ninth at the Tour of Flanders and 13th at Paris-Roubaix.
Beyond the usual suspects that Van Aert will be contesting the Classics with, he will also come head to head with fellow cyclocross star and career-long rival Mathieu Van Der Poel, who yesterday confirmed his intention to race part of the Spring Classics in 2019.
The two riders have raced against one another in the cyclocross circuit since their days as juniors with Van Aert often having the upper hand over Van Der Poel including taking three back-to-back World titles.
However, Van Der Poel has been the stronger so far this season, winning 15 of 17 races to date.