UAE Team Emirates have announced their sixth signing for the upcoming 2023 season, with 30-year-old New Zealander Michael Vink set to join the team on a one-year deal.
Vink spent last season racing at Continental level in New Zealand with the Bolton Equities Black Spoke team and will link up with his compatriot George Bennett at his new team.
The signing was finalised after UAE Team Emirates took notice of Vink thanks to his riding on the UAE-based free virtual cycling platform MyWhoosh, a co-sponsor of the team.
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"Through his strong results across a number of competitive races on Whoosh, the team took note, and further testing was done before it was arranged for him to join the squad for 2023," read a statement issued by the team.
Vink has raced at Continental level throughout his career, taking in spells at Trek-Livestrong, Team Budget Forklifts, and St George, among others. He has several New Zealand national titles on his palmarès, including the elite road race and time trial titles in 2012 and 2015.
In 2019 he finished fifth at the Tour of Taihu Lake and Tour of Fuzhou, and he won the New Zealand Cycle Classic in 2014.
"We're very pleased to welcome Michael into the team," said team principal Mauro Gianetti. "While he has had some good results on the road before, we really became more aware of him through his performances on Whoosh.
"Throughout the year our riders use Whoosh as depending on the weather it's not always possible or practical to train outside: in some of these races we began to see Michael's name popping up at the top of the results and contact was made.
"Cycling is constantly evolving and new innovations like Whoosh, which we are proud to say is a platform founded in the UAE, are even helping us discover new riders which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago."
Vink said that he couldn't wait to start racing alongside his new teammates and said he was humbled to be part of such a great team.
"I'm extremely grateful to be given this opportunity with UAE Team Emirates," he said. "To be asked to be a part of such a great team is truly humbling and is something I plan to take full advantage of. This is the start of a new chapter in my career, and I can't wait to see what I can do in the World Tour peloton."
Vink is far from the first rider to earn a pro contract off the back of performances in the virtual cycling world. For several years, Canyon-Sram have hired the winners of the Zwift Academy competition, with Tanja Erath, Neve Bradbury, and Ella Harris among those turning pro after winning.
In the men's peloton, Jay Vine is the most notable name to make the switch to the pro ranks after winning the Zwift Academy. The Australian, who won two stages of the Vuelta a España this season, is now in his third year at Alpecin-Deceuninck.
