Italian U23 road and time trial champion Edoardo Affini will join Australian UCI WorldTour team Mitchelton-SCOTT in 2019 on a two-year contract, the team has announced.
After spending the last two years racing with respected Dutch development team SEG-Racing-Academy, the 22-year-old Italian has enjoyed a successful 2018 campaign with victories in the prologue at the U23 Giro d’Italia, the individual time trial at the Mediterranean Games along with dual wins at the Italian U23 national championships.
In addition, Affini also won the European U23 time trial title in July, cementing his reputation as an outstanding time trial talent and future classics prospect.
“It’s really amazing to be given the opportunity to turn professional with one of the best teams in the world like Mitchelton-SCOTT, it is definitely a dream come true for me,” said Affini.
“I am excited to see what the future will bring, and I think that here I have a great chance to start a new chapter and continue to expand on the development started two years ago with SEG-Racing-Academy. I can’t wait to get started.”
Head Sport director Matt White: “Edoardo is one of the most exciting prospects to come out of Italy in recent years. He is a super strong time trial talent and a rider that we’ll be looking to integrate into our classics group and develop his potential over the next few years.”
“His results this year speak for themselves and it was an important factor for Edoardo to go a team where he is able to continue his time trial development and progression on the same upward curve.
“Since our inception we have achieved results and created a strong pedigree in that pursuit and I am sure Edoardo will be a great fit.
“We have a great track record at developing young talent and within the team we have a genuine care for the riders and place great importance on allowing them to progress naturally without any undue pressure and that won’t be any different for Edoardo.”
