Wednesday 16 August 2017 16:11, UK
Sprint star Marcel Kittel has quit Belgium's Quick Step-Floors team to link up with world time-trial champion Tony Martin at Swiss outfit Katusha-Alpecin.
Kittel, 29, had an outstanding Tour de France this year, winning five stages and holding the sprinters' green jersey for 12 days before being forced to withdraw from the race following a crash on the 17th stage in the Alps.
The German, who has signed a two-year deal with Katusha, said: "I am looking forward to racing with the team and especially with Tony and some of the other German riders."
He also thanked his previous employers for helping him recover from the virus that plagued him during 2015 when he missed that year's Tour de France.
He added: "I got some great support over the last two years and was able to get back to my previous best after my horror year in 2015."
His five wins in this year's Tour made him the most successful German stage winner in the history of the world's most prestigious bike race.
Kittel and Martin raced together as juniors and were part of the same Quick Step team in 2016.
