Australian champion Miles Scotson (BMC)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Miles Scotson (BMC)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Miles Scotson Of Australia and BMC Racing Team(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
FDJ team manager Marc Madiot answers questions from the press(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Groupama-FDJ have confirmed the signing of Miles Scotson from BMC Racing. The Australian has penned a two-year deal, joining current BMC teammates Stefan Küng and Kilian Frankiny on the French team next year.
Groupama-FDJ have been relatively quiet since the transfer window opened, shoring up their squad with a series of extensions rather than bringing in new riders.
The team have resigned 14 riders, while Arthur Vichot is set to leave for Vital Concept and Jeremy Roy will retire. However, the backbone of the team will remain, with key French riders Arnaud Démare and Thibaut Pinot penning new contracts.
After Küng and Frankiny, Scotson is only the third new addition to the line-up for the 2019 season.
The 24-year-old Miles Scotson is a time trial specialist who began his cycling career on the track. He turned professional with BMC Racing in 2017 after a stint as a stagiaire at Wanty-Groupe Gobert and a bronze medal in the under-23 time trial at the 2016 World Championships in Qatar.
He won the Australian national title at the start of 2017 and was part of BMC's team time trial squad at the World Championships later in the season, where they took silver behind Team Sunweb. Scotson did not race much for BMC this season, contesting just 46 race days.
He was brought to Austria for the World Championships as a reserve in the team time trial squad, but did not race. On Tuesday, he lined up at the one-day Binche-Chimay-Binche.
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Scotson is one of 17 riders leaving the BMC set-up at the end of this season, with the team taking on a new title sponsor in the Polish CCC shoe company. Among those due to depart at the end of the year are Richie Porte, who is going to Trek-Segafredo, Rohan Dennis, who's off to Bahrain-Merida, and Simon Gerrans, who is due to retire at the end of the season.
Scotson's younger brother Callum is due to turn professional next season with Mitchelton-Scott.
