Davide Appollonio signs with Movistar
The young Italian will join some of his current Cervelo TestTeam mates on the new team
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Promising Italian talent Davide Appollonio is the latest rider from Cervélo TestTeam to secure a contract for next season in the wake of the team’s decision to close at the end of the 2010 season.
Appollonio, 21, has signed a three-year deal to join Movistar in 2011. A strong sprinter who’s also been hyped as a potential classics rider, the rookie Appollonio won his first pro race this season with a stage at the Tour du Limousin and rode to second in both the recent GP de Formies and GP de Vendée.
He will join Cervélo teammate Ignatas Konovalovas and Xavier Tondo at Movistar, which is bolstering its roster for the future following the major injection of sponsorship dollars from Spain’s Telefonica.
More than half the Cervélo team has secured rides for next season.
Thor Hushovd leads an exodus of seven riders to what will be called Garmin-Cervélo in 2011. Joining Hushovd will be Heinrich Haussler, Roger Hammond, Brett Lancaster, Andreas Klier, Daniel Lloyd and Gabriel Rasch.
Carlos Sastre and Marcel Wyss will join Geox (formerly Footon-Servetto) and Theo Bos has returned to Rabobank. Jeremy Hunt has been linked to the Pegasus/Fly V Australian team.
There’s no official word yet where North American riders Ted King or Dominique Rollin will ride next season.
(Related: A list of recent confirmed ProTour transfers, extensions and retirements)