Gianni Savio with his latest prodigy Ivan Sosa at the Tour of the Alps(Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) surges after being caught by Ivan Sosa (Androni Giocattoli)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Ivan Ramiro Sosa (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) won the queen stage 3 at the Adriatica Ionica Race(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Ivan Ramiro Sosa (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) won the queen stage 3 and took the overall lead at the Adriatica Ionica Race(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Ivan Sosa (Androni-Giocattoli) leads the overall classification during stage 4 at Adriatica Ionica Race(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Ivan Sosa's long and protracted transfer saga is almost at an end with the talented Colombian climber set to sign with Team Sky for 2019. He was initially announced to have signed with Trek-Segafredo for 2019, with the rider himself posting a video to confirm the news. However, a contract dispute between representatives claiming to represent Sosa broke out, with the rider eventually declaring that he was represented by agent Giuseppe Acquadro.
On Friday evening, Acquadro informed Trek-Segafredo that Sosa would not be signing the team's improved contract offer, and Cyclingnews has been informed by Acquadro that a deal with Team Sky is close. This could lead to legal issues after Trek-Segafredo paid Sosa's current team manager, Gianni Savio, a fee of around €120,000 in order to buy the Colombian out of his existing deal. According to Trek-Segafredo, the team did this on the basis and agreement that Sosa would join their team.
A contract between Sosa and Trek-Segafredo was never signed, and Acquadro claimed over the weekend that Sosa never received a contract from Trek during the summer.
Acquadro and Trek-Segafredo management were scheduled to hold last ditch talks during the World Championships but Team Sky's admiration of Sosa appears to have drawn the rider's gaze.
The British WorldTour team currently work with a number of Acquadro's riders, including former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski and another Colombian prodigy, Egan Bernal. The Tour de France debutant signed a five-year contract recently and is reportedly close to Sosa.
"For me it's all okay, and for the rider it's all okay," Acquadro told Cyclingnews on Monday. "I started to work with Sosa and Trek then sent a new proposal but it was not accepted. A deal with another team is close. Yes we are talking to Team Sky. We will see."
An official announcement is set to be made in the coming days.
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Sosa, 20, has had a breakthrough year. He won the Vuelta a Burgos in August and the Adriatica Ionica Race in June. He is set to compete in several Italian one-day races between now and the end of the season.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
