Friday 1 September 2017 11:44, UK
British U23 Road Race Champion Chris Lawless has joined Team Sky.
The 21-year-old, one of cycling's top U23 talents, will ride for the team next season alongside fellow Tour de l'Avenir stage winners Pavel Sivakov, Egan Bernal and Kristoffer Halvorsen, all of whom arrived recently.
Lawless' victory at stage four of L'Avenir was one of a number of triumphs in a successful season that saw him win the ZLM Tour outright and achieve podium finishes at both Velothon Wales and a British national championship road race.
Lawless said: "One of my main reasons for joining Team Sky is that I feel it's going to be the best place for me to develop as a rider.
"I've had a good 2017 so far. The overall win at the ZLM Tour and the stage win at Tour de l'Avenir were both really big wins for me. I was happy with the way I won them.
"I want to improve in every area. I'm hoping to become a more all-round bike rider and Team Sky is going to be the best place for me to do that.
"I'm really looking forward to getting started with Team Sky."
Team Sky's Rod Ellingworth says Lawless' potential played a key part in his signing.
"We first saw Chris a couple of years back and he is someone we've been keeping an eye on.
"He's put in some good results this year and obviously he just won a stage at the Tour de l'Avenir so he's in good company there."
