Jon Dibben signs for Team Sky

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Team Sky have announced their sixth signing for 2017, taking on the young British rider Jon Dibben from the WIGGINS team.

The 22-year-old, who was points race world champion on the track and second at this year's U23 Tour of Flanders on the road, will be Sky's third British neo-pro next term, alongside Owain Doull and Tao Geoghegan Hart.

"It's very exciting. It's going to be a big change and obviously a big step up, going from Team WIGGINS and an academy which is very track-focused, to go into the biggest cycling team in the world," said Dibben. "It's a great opportunity to get into the big leagues and see what it's all about.

"Obviously I know Owain and Tao - they are two of my best mates - so it's good that we're all joining the team together. It's certainly a whole new environment and a different lifestyle. It's a big change and it's something I'm looking forward to."

Dibben has split his commitments this year between the track and the road but, despite impressing at the World Championships at the London velodrome in March, he missed out on selection for the Olympics Games to Mark Cavendish.

He then joined the Cannondale-Drapac WorldTour team as a stagiaire from August, racing in the lime green at the Tour of Utah. After that he impressed at the Tour de l'Avenir, finishing in the top three on three stages, and went on to place ninth in the U23 World Championships road race last month.

"I think on the road it was a really good year," added Dibben. "Maybe at the Worlds I didn't get exactly the results that I wanted to but it was the first time I'd had a consistent block on the road. I really enjoyed it and it certainly made me feel that this was what I wanted to do for the next few years, and to commit 100 percent to the road."

Dibben acknowledged that gaining experience will be the focus of 2017 as he adjusts to life as a full-time professional road racer in the top echelon of the sport. 

"Your main job as a pro is just to be on it from January to November - the whole year you need to be consistently good. So it's just getting used to that constant high level, rather than this year where I had my targets and I went in as a team leader. Next year will be much more about learning how the pro racers ride, and the volume of racing I imagine will step up to double if not more. So it will be about getting used to that."

Dibben is Sky's sixth signing of the season, following Owain Doull (WIGGINS), Tao Geoghegan Hart (Axeon Hagens Berman), Łukasz Wiśniowski (Team Sky), Kenny Elissonde (FDJ), and Diego Rosa (Astana).