Unitedhealthcare has been good for Philip Deignan and the its management good to him. But even they will be delighted he is making a big move to Team Sky.
By Brian Canty
Following months of speculation, Ireland’s Philip Deignan will be confirmed as a Team Sky rider as early as tomorrow, Friday.
The Donegal man, who celebrates his 30th birthday on Saturday, will link up with some of the most talented riders in the world in the world’s biggest team — one that has claimed the last two Tours de France.
It is phenomenal news for Deignan, and indeed Irish cycling, which is currently on the crest of a wave following a string of landmark victories already this year.
News that the Irishman was moving from Unitedhealthcare to Team Sky was broken first here on stickybottle last month.
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Though Dan Martin, Nicolas Roche and Martyn Irvine have perhaps stolen the limelight with some stellar performances and results this year, Deignan has had a marvellous season and crucially he is back climbing with the very best in the world.
News of his move, the biggest of his career, comes just three weeks out from the World Championships in Italy and will no doubt give him and the Irish team a huge boost.
Deignan has long been earmarked as one of the most talented riders to ever emerge from these shores, and his move to the Dave Brailsford-led squad meets the expectation that he was in with a real chance of returning to the top level of the sport.
A Grand Tour stage winner as far back as the 2009 Vuelta a Espana, his career appeared to take a slide thereafter, due to a litany of injuries and ailments that blighted recent years.
He commenced his professional career in 2005 with French outfit AG2R Prévoyance, who joined the ProTour ranks in 2006. However, he left that team at the end of 2008 for Cervélo, with whom he had signed a two-year contract. When that team effectively ceased as an independent entity he signed for Radioshack on a one-year deal for 2011.
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He then moved down a tier to the Pro Continental US team Unitedhealthcare. And while his lack of form continued last year, the team said they were convinced he would come good. And Deignan has certainly done that, picking up so many results that he was spent the year in the top 10 ranked riders in the UCI's US rankings; currently occupying 8th place.
Most of his big performances this year have come in the high mountains where he is most prolific.
He won the Tour of the Gila (2.2) stage race as well as the mountains jersey there, before finishing runner-up in the Tour de Beauce (2.2) and claiming sixth on GC at the Tour of Utah.
He turned in another scintillating performance at the Tour of California, taking ninth overall and then he notched a top 10 at the US Pro Cycling Challenge, proving a real menace on the steepest climbs there.
Deignan will link up next year with Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins as well as the likes of Segio Henao and Edvald Boasson Hagen.
From all at stickybottle, the very best of luck to him.
Here's how we broke the news last month, subsequently followed up by the international cycling media
