The 20-year-old is the son of Philippe Ermenault, who won a gold medal in the team pursuit at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The younger Ermenault recently won the European individual pursuit title, beating world champion Filippo Ganna of Italy in a close finale. He is also part of the French team that won the European team pursuit title and took second place in both the under 23 time trial and road race championships this season. He also finished third in the under 23 Tour of Flanders.
Team WIGGINS has still to confirm its full roster for 2017 but it is likely to include several new riders after a series of high-level departures.
Despite hints he may continue to race, it seems more likely that Bradley Wiggins will manage the team but not race as a professional. Jon Dibben and Owain Doull have both stepped up to ride for Team Sky, while Dan Pearson and Mark Christian have joined the new Irish Aqua Blue Professional Continental team.
Speaking after winning the Gent Six, Bradley Wiggins described Ermenault as a 'huge talent.'
"We've got some other fantastic riders so I really want to try and help those guys and develop the next champions, the guys who are going to be here in the next few years," Wiggins said.
No TUEs for Ermenault
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Ermenault is the first new signing to be confirmed and will join his new teammates for a get together in Liverpool in early December and then head to Spain for a training camp.
"I'm really happy. This is a new direction for me. I'm going to turn professional in a team that I've always made dreamed about since it was created," Ermenault told the Ciclisym'Actu website.
"Wiggins is something special. I didn’t want to get carried away and be in the World Tour, so Team Wiggins is perfect for me. I can ride races like Triptych des Monts et Châteaux, the Tour de Bretagne and the Tour de Normandie but also class 1 races like the Tour of Britain or the Tour of California. I don't know my exact schedule for now.
"In 2017, I will try to win races that are within my reach and find my place. Team Wiggins is a great place to start with the pros."
Ermenault shrugged off a question about Wiggins’ TUE use during the height of his career.
"I'm not afraid of any questions. I'm ready for them and for some criticism," he said. "A rider who wants to be a professional has to shield himself and disregard stuff like that. It's up to the UCI to do its job and take care of the stories about TUE. What I can say is is that I won't race with a TUE."
