Stijn Devolder pledged two years with Team RadioShack-Nissan
Stijn Devolder’s interest towards riding with Team RadioShack-Nissan for the 2013 season was amongst the biggest speculations earlier on the season.
The Luxembourg side has made the announcement today confirming that it has signed the 32-year-old for the coming seasons as reported by Sporza.be.
The cyclist has secured a two-year deal with the team which will give him a chance to ride along his mentors, Dirk Demol and Johan Bruyneel.
He rode with the duo through 2004 to 2007 during his stay with the American outfits, US Postal and Discovery Channel.
"Let me be clear: the transfer has not come because of me," Dirk Demol told
Sporza.
"It was manager Johan Bruyneel himself that caused Devolder to ride for us next year".
"Naturally it is my job to get Stijn back to that level," said Demol.
"I know him better than anyone, I followed him right from childhood. His sickly season hurt my heart”.
"I would like to give him more confidence now. That's a challenge I'm sure and I hope I succeed in my goal to get him back to his old level".
The Belgian marked his professional debut in 2002 with Team Vlaanderen-T Interim and stayed with the team by the end of 2003.
He penned a four-year deal with Team US Postal through 2004-07 before joining Team Quick Step for 2008-2010 seasons.
Stijn accepted an offer from the Dutch side, Team Vacansoleil-DCM in 2011 and could not register any victories during his two-year stay with the team.
Despite being one of the most highly paid teams, Team RadioShack-Nissan had a very disappointing season and could only manage the 12th overall position after the UCI World Tour team’s rankings.
Tour de France 2011 runner up, Andy Schleck had a knee surgery earlier on the season and could not represent the team at the French race this year.
His brother, Frank Schleck is facing a doping ban after tests came positive during the Tour de France 2012.
Team General Manager, Johan Bruyneel was accused of trafficking and administering the UCI banned substance previously in career.
All these things adds up to a very bitter 2012 season for the Luxembourg team and Johan Bruyneel is hoping to leave all the sorrows behind and mark a fresh start to the 2013 season.
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