Gianni Meersman to Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step
Marking his professional debut with Team Discovery Channel in 2007, Gianni Meersman joined Team Lotto-Belisol in 2012 after spending four years (2008-11) with Team Francaise des Jeux.
The cyclist has now signed a two-year deal with the American outfit, Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step after a couple of good performances in the current season.
The Belgian bagged a stage each at the Volta ao Algarve, the Paris-Nice 2012 and finished third at the Clasica de San Sebastian 2012.
Patrick Lefevere of Team Omega Pharma Quick Step was overwhelmed to hire the young Belgian and noted that his arrival will further strengthen the team.
"Gianni's arrival further improves the team's technical capacity. I'm expecting him to have a season as a major player in some Ardennes Classics like the Brabantse Pijl or the Amstel Gold Race,” he noted.
Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step is one of the strongest 2013 sides on paper and Gianni was delighted to ride amongst some of the top cyclists in the peloton.
"I'm very happy to become a part of this group and to ride side by side with great champions. Patrick Lefevere had already sought me out in 2007. His faith in me is very important to me," he noted in a press release.
“When I have what it takes to make captain I'm going to play my cards and when necessary I'll also put myself in the service of the team, as I've seen many champions from this squad do," he voiced.
The team has re-signed Gert Steegmans, Julien Vermote, Niki Terpstra, Nikolas Maes, Matteo Trentin, Stijn Vandenbergh and Andy Fenn for two seasons, till 2014 while Pieter Serry, Gianluca Brambilla and Iljo Keisse have been signed for one year with the team.
Signing Mark Cavendish from Team Sky has really strengthened the American side for the season ahead, while Dario Cataldo, Francesco Chicchi and Gerald Ciolek will leave the team by the end of 2012 season.
Meersman is looking to improve his performance in the coming season and his main focus will be on both the quantity and the quality of the victories.
It will be interesting to see, if the Gianni manages to find the right momentum to help the team earlier in the 2013 season.
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