Orica-GreenEdge signs neo-pro Cort for three years

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The Orica-GreenEdge team announced today that it has signed neo-pro Magnus Cort to a three-year contract starting in 2015. Cort is a 21-year-old Danish winner of two Tour of Denmark stages and a "classy all-rounder", according to direceur sportif Matt White.

Cort moves to the WorldTour team from Cult Energy Vital Water, and recently won the overall Ronde de l'Oise, and was second overall at the Tour des Fjords, winning a stage there and leading for two days. He's racked up 10 wins so far this season to add to last year's success in the Post Denmark Tour, where he won two stages and came ninth overall.

White sees a promising future for Cort, and the team will give him what he needs to develop, as it has done for the rest of its young riders.

"The young guys we have are the best of the best – and they've shown us that by winning," White said. "We want them to keep that quality. We want to extend Magnus the support he needs to continue to win bike races while at the same time helping him develop as an athlete and a person. We know we want Mangus to win next year, and we know he has the talent do that. We'll work out with him the where, when and how."

"Most people probably perceive Magnus as a sprinter, but I wouldn't call him that," said White. "Uphill sprints are certainly his thing, but he's a pretty classy all-rounder. You only need to look at his results to see that he is multi-dimensional. We see him developing in our Classics group. He thrives in the crosswinds and can handle the style of racing we see in the spring very well. "

Cort will move to Girona next season to integrate himself with his new teammates, and is looking forward to learning the WorldTour ropes.

"I'm really happy to turn pro with ORICA-GreenEdge," said Cort. "It's a team that will give me some great opportunities to develop and allow me to be part of a really good group of people. I have been really impressed with all the contact we have had to date. I actually haven't been a bike rider for that long, but since I was a kid, I've been watching the big races. It's a dream to be on my way to racing them."