Victor Campenaerts confirms move to Dimension Data

Victor Campenaerts has confirmed his move to Dimension Data from Lotto-Soudal.

The Belgian pro will be joining the South African outfit, which will be rebranded as Team NTT next season, and hopes to target some major time trial victories.

Campenaerts, the Hour Record holder, says he hopes for Olympic and World Championship TT success after signing a three-year deal with the team.

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The 27-year-old told Het Nieuwsblad: “When it turned out at the end of June that Lotto-Soudal did not intend to keep me longer I started looking for other options myself. I opted for a hyper-professional environment like Team Ineos. I chose a team that is in line with Lotto-Soudal and where I would have the freedom to concentrate on time trials. Dimension Data has become that team.”

Campenaerts is amongst the top echelon of time triallists in the WorldTour peloton, claiming the European TT title last season and finishing third at the Worlds.

Earlier this year he set a new Hour Record on a velodrome in Mexico, beating previous holder Sir Bradley Wiggins by 500 metres.

Campenaerts then turned his attention to the Giro d’Italia, where he was targeting a maiden Grand Tour TT victory, but the race ended in disappointment as he left the race without a win, finishing second in two out of the three solo tests.

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He will now switch to Dimension Data after five seasons with Belgian team Lotto, saying he had a good feeling about discussion with sports director Rolf Aldag and had asked his compatriots Serge Pauwels (CCC Team) and Julien Vermote (Dimension Data) for their impressions of the team.

Campenaerts added: “I had known the Dimension Data team for some time and I have always found it an attractive project. The riders get a lot of opportunities to race freely.”

Dimension Data team principal Douglas Ryder said: “Welcoming Victor into our team is hugely exciting. His pedigree is exceptional and, in particular, to have someone join us with his time trialling ability is a huge boost for the whole team and for our bike partner BMC as we continue to innovate together. Victor has huge ambitions for next year with which we believe through our partners NTT and ALE and how we use technology, we are able to achieve great things together.

“2020 is a big year which of course includes the Olympic Games in Tokyo as a major highlight for many riders. Our title sponsor, NTT, has its roots in Japan and so to prospectively have Victor challenging for a medal there will be a fantastic moment for us.”