Steven De Jongh will join the new British Team Sky in 2010 as a Sports Director.
The highly-experienced 35-year old Dutch rider ended his 15-year career earlier this week in Italy at the Giro del Piemonte.
De Jongh has spent the last four seasons riding for the Belgian Quick-Step and is a proven rider in the cobbled Spring Classics that take place in Northern Europe.
David Brailsford, Team Principal for Team Sky, said; “Steven brings a lot of knowledge about the classics and the tough one-day races and will be a real asset to Team Sky as a Sports Director. He has the right character and personality to be an excellent sports director and with him we have another great addition to our management.”
De Jongh, who was rumored to connect with the British team in late August, is known for helping young riders develop which makes him a good fit for the new team.
“He's a good communicator and has always been a highly-respected rider. I'm convinced that his hands-on knowledge will fit in perfectly with the technical staff we have for the classics and the other important races in our program. We want to build up our management with people with a broad spectrum of qualifications combined with the right attitude about working together. I'm convinced that Steven is the right person for the job.” added Brailsford.
When initially announcing his retirement De Jongh expressed an interest in staying within the sport. The Dutchman admits having a deal lined up with Team Sky eased his mind about retirement saying: “I feel perfectly at ease about retiring now as a rider, because I'm really exited about joining Team Sky. It's a fantastic project and I think that they have given me the chance of a lifetime to become a part of it.
"I have a lot of ambitions about the sport and I'm looking forward to being a part of a team that is starting up and will bring something new and different in cycling. It's totally new for me to take on this role but I'm confident that I bring some experience and that I'll be working with great riders and fantastic colleagues at Team Sky.”
Having De Jongh at the side of an already proven entity, Australian Scott Sunderland, certainly bodes well Team Sky's debut season, and shows that Brailsford intends to build the team properly from the top down.