Italian champion targets one-day races at new team
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Davide Formolo and his Bora-Hansgrohe teammates in San Sebastian(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Davide Formolo (ITA - Bora - Hansgrohe) racing in the Italian champion kit at stage 6 of the Tour de Pologne(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Davide Formolo delighted as he makes his way to the podium(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Davide Formolo (Bora-Hansgrohe) takes third place on stage 17 of the 2019 Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Davide Formolo heading down the descent of the final climb(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Davide Formolo will ride for UAE Team Emirates in 2020 after signing a two-year contract with the team. The Italian champion arrives at UAE Team Emirates after two seasons with Bora-Hansgrohe.
Formolo placed 10th and 14th overall in the past two editions of the Giro d'Italia but said that he will emphasis one-day racing at UAE Team Emirates. He placed second at this year's Liège-Bastogne-Liège behind Jakob Fuglsang and also took second at the recent test event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
"For the next few years I want to mainly focus on the hilly one-day classics on the UCI WorldTour," Formolo said in a statement released by UAE Team Emirates on Monday.
"For me, the move to a team like UAE Team Emirates means a lot. I spent two wonderful years with my current team, but I felt my goals and the plan laid out by UAE Team Emirates fitted together perfectly, so I decided to join this exciting project."
A native of Marano di Valpolicella, near Verona, Formolo spent four seasons in Cannondale colours before moving to Bora-Hansgrohe in 2018. He marked his Giro d'Italia debut in 2015 with a solo stage victory in La Spezia and he also placed 9th overall in the following year's Vuelta a España.
The 26-year-old was an aggressive presence at this year's Giro but was unable to secure a stage victory. He carried his form from the corsa rosa into the Italian Championships in Compiano, however, and claimed the maglia tricolore.
The UAE Team Emirates roster for 2020 will include Fabio Aru, Diego Ulissi, Tadej Pogačar, Fernando Gaviria and Alexander Kristoff, though it is unclear if Dan Martin will remain with the team next season. Formolo is the latest new signing announced for 2020, following Brandon McNulty, Max Richeze and Mikkel Bjerg.
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"Formolo will form an integral role in the fabric of our team," said UAE Team Emirates general manager Joxean Matxin. "Davide has great qualities and great potential. He has already achieved some good results in the Classics and in the general classification of stage races and we are confident that he can reach even greater heights in the years to come. He will have the full support of the team for his objectives in the Ardennes Classics and beyond."
