Jon Dibben joins Lotto-Soudal

Jon Dibben will be making his return to the WorldTour with Lotto-Soudal next season.

Dibben has spend a season at continental level with Madison-Genesis but will step up again as his current team is set to close at the end of the year.

The former Team Sky rider has been signed for one year to bolster the lead-out for Caleb Ewan and the incoming John Degenkolb.

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Dibben, 25, said: “The role I will have in the team and the races that will be on my schedule seem perfectly suited to what I want to be doing or what I think I can do well at in racing.

“In the past, I have been involved in the sprints and I have already worked in lead-outs. With the way Caleb Ewan has shown himself this year and with John Degenkolb arriving next year, it will emphasise the sprint aspect in the team even more.

“The team really suits my character as a rider and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Dibben started his career with Team Wiggins in 2015, before joining Team Sky in 2017.

The Southampton-born rider left Sky at the end of last season, joining Madison-Genesis in May  having spent the winter riding Six Day events.

But the British Continental team will be closing at the end of the 2019 season, leaving plenty of talent on the hunt for contracts.

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Dibben added: “I am more the type of rider for the faster kind of racing and to form the sharp end of the bunch sprint. But I also want to keep progressing in the time trial area, and I hope to attain some nice individual time trial results. There are races that include sprints all year, so my main role will be to work for the sprinters if they are present.”

Dibben has a professional win to his name, a time trial from the 2017 Tour of California.

He added: “Otherwise, I’ll be looking to race well myself and have a go in the breakaway. I want to keep progressing, which means riding some of the bigger races and being involved in the racing a bit more.”