Tom-Jelte Slagter, the 24-year-old who won the Santos Tour Down Under earlier this year, has signed a two-year contract to ride for Garmin-Sharp starting in 2014.
The Dutch rider, who signed with Rabobank (which became Blanco, and then Belkin, this year) in 2011, also won a stage and the Best Young Rider classification at the January race.
Last year, Slagter finished fifth at the Grand Prix Quebec and sixth at the Tour of Oman. In 2010, he won the Under-23 road race at the Dutch national championships.
This season, Slagter has racked up top-three stage results at the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour du Haut Var.
“We are always looking to help develop young talent and Tom is a perfect fit for our team,” Garmin CEO Jonathan Vaughters said in a press release. “He is an explosive rider with a lot of potential, which we have already seen with his overall win at the Tour Down Under this year. We look forward to having him on board next year and continuing to develop his talent.”
Slagter believes Garmin is the “best fit” for him and the right team to learn more about the intricacies of the professional peloton.
“I would like to become more consistent on the WorldTour level and I think Garmin-Sharp is the right place to be able to continue to develop my career,” he said. “Dan Martin is one of my role models in the peloton, and it’s fantastic to see the big races he won this year, so I am very excited to be able to race with him at some point in the future.”