Ben Hermans signs for BMC

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BMC has confirmed the signing of Ben Hermans for the 2014 season. The Belgian arrives at the team after spending four years in the colours of RadioShack.

Hermans was not offered a new contract by Trek – which takes possession of the RadioShack-Leopard licence for 2014 – and he was reported to have been on the verge of signing for Pro Continental squad Wanty-Groupe Gobert when BMC stepped in with an offer to keep him at WorldTour level.

"It is really late in the season and I was already prepared to go pro continental level, so this is a nice surprise," Hermans said. "I know I can learn from a guy like Cadel Evans and there are also some very good Belgian riders, like Philippe Gilbert and Greg Van Avermaet, who I can watch and learn from.”

Hermans has two professional wins to his name, a stage of the 2010 Tour of Belgium and victory at the Trofeo Inca in Mallorca in 2011. The 27-year-old has previously performed strongly at Amstel Gold Race and is also a solid rouleur, twice placing second at the Belgian national time trial championships.

“We’re pleased to add Ben to our roster for 2014," said BMC general manager Jim Ochowicz. "He has valuable experience on multiple levels from his years in the races and will add value to the team at every turn. We welcome him to the BMC Racing Team family."

The length of Hermans’ contract has not been disclosed by BMC, but the team confirmed that his arrival completes the roster for 2014. BMC’s other new signings for 2014 include Peter Velits from Omega Pharma-QuickStep, Peter Stetina from Garmin-Sharp, Darwin Atapuma from Colombia and neo-professional Rick Zabel.

Italian champion Ivan Santaromita leaves the team for Orica-GreenEdge, Mathias Frank has signed for IAM Cycling for 2014, while Marco Pinotti has announced that he will retire after the Chrono des Nations.