Vantornout to Sunweb

Klaas Vantornout will depart his heavy-hitting Fidea squad in favour of the Sunweb-Projob team at the end of the season. The up and coming Belgian signed a two year deal with the team of Jurgen Mettepenningen. The 25 year-old will share team leadership with Sven Vanthourenhout rather than race in the shadow of the Fidea stars Bart Wellens, Erwin Vervecken and Zdenek Stybar. "With this change I want to give my career a push ", said Vantornout to sporza.be. Ranked third in the UCI standings, Vantornout had been offered a contract with Fidea, but decided to forge ahead in search of a bigger challenge. "I wasn't treated badly at Fidea, but I love a challenge."

"At Fidea we had many top riders, but I would like to take the rope in my own hands," Vantornout continued, acknowledging that he would share the spotlight with Vanthourenhout, who has struggled to return to top form after having surgery this summer, and will take the place of American Jonathan Page, who was in conflict with the team management over his race schedule and results.