Alpecin-Fenix have bolstered their sprinting ranks with the signing of Jakub Mareczko.
The 27-year-old Italian, who is of Polish descent, has joined the Belgian team on a two-year deal.
Marezcko will move across from the Italian second-division team Vini Zabu, who are set to stop as a professional team next year.
Article continues below"The team is specialized in sprints & one-day races and do great lead-outs. I’m convinced it’s a good choice for me to come here," Mareczko said in a short statement from his new team.
"I’m curious to find out how well I can do sprinting in the Alpecin-Fenix kit."
Mareczko has racked up nearly 50 victories as a professional, although the vast majority have been at lower-level races on the Asia Tour. He has 20 wins to his name at the Tour of Taihu Lake, including two overall titles, as well as seven at the Tour of Hainan and three at the Tour de Langkawi.
This year he scored one of his biggest wins, landing the opening stage of the Settimana Coppi e Bartali, where he got the better of Mark Cavendish.
Mareczko spent the 2021 season at the Vini Zabu team where he started his career in 2015, when the team were known as Southeast and then Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia. In between, he spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons at WorldTour level with CCC Team but could only manage three stage wins at the Tour de Hongrie over that team.
When CCC Team folded, he returned to Vini Zabu but has now been forced to find a new home in similar circumstances, with the Italian team losing their title sponsor to Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert.
At Alpecin-Fenix, he will find himself still at second-division level but in one of the world's leading sprint teams. This year Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen both won nine races each, handing the team sprint wins at all three Grand Tours.
Alpecin-Fenix, who are built around Mathieu van der Poel, havve already signed Stefano Oldani (Lotto Soudal), Michael Gogl (Qhubeka-NextHash), Rob Stannard (BikeExchange), and Fabio van den Bossche (Sport Vlaanderen), as well as neo-pros Maurice Ballerstedt and Sam Gaze.
They are losing Louis Vervaeke to QuickStep, Ben Tulett to Ineos Grenadiers, and Otto Vergaerde to Trek-Segafredo.
