Wednesday 16 August 2017 15:59, UK
Quick-Step Floors have confirmed Team Sky sprinter Elia Viviani will be joining the team from January 2018.
Olympic omnium champion Viviani has been with Team Sky since the start of 2015 and has since claimed a series of victories, including his first Grand Tour stage success at the 2015 Giro d'Italia.
He joins a strong squad of sprint talent with the Belgian side although news of Viviani's arrival came on the same day that the team announced Marcel Kittel was leaving the team to join Katusha.
Viviani said: "Quick-Step Floors is the best choice I could make. When [team manager] Patrick Lefevere came with this offer, I just couldn't say no to one of the biggest teams in the world.
"I am honoured to join a squad with such a fantastic pedigree, one that has excelled in the art of sprinting over time. I couldn't be happier about this transfer, so that's why I want to thank Patrick and the entire team for this chance and their trust."
"I also want to thank Team Sky for the three years spent together and the great memories, but now the time has come to take on a new challenge.
"This is the right step in my career, because I'm confident it can help me progress.
"I am 28 now and I really want to find out next season what I can do in an outfit which gives me opportunities. I'm also excited about being on the same team with Fernando Gaviria, one of the fastest riders in the peloton, who I got to know from the events we raced together as opponents in the past two seasons."
