Trek Factory Racing have finalised their 2015 squad with the signing of former Omega Pharma-Quick-Step rider Gert Steegmans.
The 34-year-old Belgian leaves OPQS after three seasons, having raced for RadioShack in 2010 before moving to Quickstep for the 2011 season.
“I’m happy to have landed a team for 2015,” Steegmans said on Trek website. “I’ve been training hard these last weeks and now I can focus on training without having to worry about contract negotiations. Trek Factory Racing is a great team and has excellent support staff. It’s a young team, but the management has a clear, long-term vision.”
In his first spell with Quickstep, then titled Quickstep-Innergetic, between 2007-2008, Steegmans racked up two stage wins in the Tour de France.
Trek hope the veteran can help them in both their classics campaign and in sprint stages, with the Belgian having been part of Mark Cavendish’s leadout train for the past two seasons.
General Manager Luca Guercilena said: “We’re stoked to have Gert in the team. I know him personally from the times where we were both at QuickStep.
“He’s one of the biggest engines in the peloton and he’s very motivated to have a great season. This is a last-minute signing for us and we’ll start working on Gert’s training schedule and race program right away.”
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Trek squad for 2015
Eugenio Alafaci, Julian Arredondo, Fumiyuki Beppu, Matthew Busche, Fabian Cancellara, Marco Coledan, Stijn Devolder, Laurent Didier, Fabio Felline, Markel Irizar, Bob Jungels, Bauke Mollema, Giacomo Nizzolo, Yaroslav Popovych, Grégory Rast, Hayden Roulston, Fränk Schleck, Jesse Sergent, Fabio Silvestre, Gert Steegmans, Jasper Stuyven, Boy Van Poppel, Danny Van Poppel, Kristof Vandewalle, Calvin Watson, Riccardo Zoidl, Haimar Zubeldia
Stuart Clarke is a News Associates trained journalist who has worked for the likes of the British Olympic Associate, British Rowing and the England and Wales Cricket Board, and of course Cycling Weekly. His work at Cycling Weekly has focused upon professional racing, following the World Tour races and its characters.
