Eddie Dunbar's Team Jayco AlUla has moved to beef up its team leadership, and climbing abilities, by signing young Swiss rider Mauro Schmid, who is currently nearing the end of a two-year contract with Soudal QuickStep.
The Swiss rider, aged 23 years, has already won a stage at Giro d'Italia and taken overall victory in Baloise Belgium Tour, last year, and at Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali earlier this year. The Australian team, which Dunbar joined this year on the a three-year contract, said the arrival of Schmid into its ranks would compliment the Irishman and its other general classification leader, Simon Yates.
Jayco AlUla general manager, Brent Copeland, said Schmid had the potential to grow into a top general classification rider, considering what he had already achieved in less than three seasons at World Tour level.
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“Mauro is a winner; we’ve seen already at a young age that he’s been able to win races and be competitive in the highest classification races," Copeland said. "Classics and one-week stage races are where the performance group believe he is best suited, and we’re really pleased and excited about this signing. It definitely strengthens the team in the area we were looking for.
"We see Mauro as a long-term project, it’s a three-year contract, which is great for the future of the team and we can build a team around him as well, he will be considered as one of leaders for sure.”
Schmid has he had always like Jayco AlUla's style of racing and he believed it was a team that fit is way of racing. “I hope to bring good spirit and some experience to the team, and I want to keep developing in the future and I know that Team Jayco AlUla is the right place for me to do that.
“I see myself as an allrounder, I am good on short punchy climbs and can also sprint quite well and I will try to help Team Jayco AlUla to win as many races as possible in the next years.”
