The 31-year-old Spaniard, who turned pro with Caja Rural in 2015 after several years at Continental level, has been in the form of his life in 2018 while riding for the Euskadi-Murias team based in the Basque Country.
In the spring he won the overall title at the Tour of Norway, finished second behind Greg Van Avermaet at the Tour de Yorkshire, and finished fourth at the Tour of Luxembourg. He then rode the Vuelta a España, where his best stage finish was fourth, before winning the overall classification at the Tour of Turkey, which is part of the WorldTour calendar and so awards valuable ranking points.
Prades possesses a fast finish but proved in Turkey and Yorkshire that he also has the ability to survive tough climbs, making him a threat both in selective reduced group finishes and for the overall title in balanced week-long stage races. In fact, he hasn't raised his arms in victory this year, with his two overall wins in Turkey and Norway, built on consistently high placings.
"Prades joins Movistar after a sensational 2018 season in which he has achieved the best results of his career, reaffirming his consistency, his ability to perform well on all terrain, and his noteworthy finishing speed," read a statement from Movistar on Friday.
Prades started his career with the Andorra Grandvalira team in 2009 but spent three years racing at amateur events in Spain before joining the OFM team in 2013 and then the Matrix team in 2014. He turned pro with Caja Rural in 2015 and won four races with them, including the Phladelphia Cycling Classic and a stage at the Volta a Portugal, as well as making his Grand Tour debut at the 2016 Vuelta. He joined the Basque Euskadi-Murias team this year in its first season at Pro Continental level and has thrived.
Prades is Movistar's fourth signing of the 2018-2019 transfer window, following the confirmation of Jurgen Roelandts from BMC Racing, Carlos Verona from Mitchelton-Scott, and Luis Mas from Caja Rural.
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