Italian joins from QuickStep-Floors on two-year deal
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A piece of watermelon to help Gianluca Brambilla recover(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Gianluca Brambilla on the attack(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Gianluca Brambilla (Quick-Step Floors)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Gianluca Brambilla had only a small amount of pink coverage for the timetrial in the 2016 Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Gianluca Brambilla and Eros Capecchi (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Italian Gianluca Brambilla has signed a two-year deal with Trek-Segafredo, ending his five-year stay with QuickStep-Floors. The 30-year-old is a Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España stage winner and explained his 2018 ambition with his new team is to target the Giro.
"I am super motivated to join Trek-Segafredo! I have learned a lot over the past five years at Quick-Step Floors and I am really grateful for that, but now I feel it's time for me to take the next step in my career. I am looking forward to changing teams, to see how another big team works, to meet new people, and to continue improving," said Brambilla.
At the 2016 Giro, Brambilla also enjoyed a stage in the pink jersey. He skipped the race this year to make his Tour de France debut and will return for his sixth appearance aiming to better his 13th overall from 2012.
"As a kid, when I saw the Giro on television for the first time, I immediately knew I wanted to become a cyclist myself," he said. "The Giro d'Italia is really my all time favorite race and next year I definitely want to make a big result there. I hope to arrive there in the shape of my life and will give it my all during three weeks to hopefully take home a really good spot in GC."
With success in one-day races, Brambilla explained he is also looking to impress in the spring and autumn monuments.
"Obviously I also like the Classics in the Ardennes and especially Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but if I am honest, the Monument I like the most is Lombardy. Being an Italian it would be a dream come true to be able to win that race one day," he said.
General manager and fellow Italian Luca Guercilena explained his delight in securing the services of Brambilla, particularly for the Giro.
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"I am convinced Gianluca will be of great added value to the team. He has already proven to be a force in stage races, and will be one of our spearheads in next year's Giro d'Italia," Guercilena. "Gianluca can win stages and go for the GC, but he can do well in one-day races too. We are excited to have him join Trek-Segafredo next year."
The team has also announced the signings of Ryan Mullen (Cannondale-Drapac), and Alex Frame (JLT Condor) from 2018 and extended the contracts of Fabio Felline, Julien Bernard, and Kiel Reijnen. From the 2017 Trek-Segafredo squad, Haimar Zubeldia, Alberto Contador, and Jesús Hernández are retiring while Edward Theuns will move to Team Sunweb.
