Zdenek Stybar, the undisputed world's best cyclocross racer of the past two seasons, will make his debut in Quick-Step colors at the upcoming Four Days of Dunkirk, which runs from the 4-8 of May.
Stybar, who won his second consecutive World Championship title in January at St. Wendel, officially announced his new contract with Patrick Lefevere's squad a week before his title repeat. Previously, the 25 year old was caught in the middle of a heated battle between his former Telenet-Fidea team and his, at the time, soon-to-be employer, Quick-Step.
After some fuss, the deal was made official and the route was paved for Stybar's ascent to possible superstardom with his first ProTeam deal.
His contract with Quick-Step officially began on March 1st, but after a hectic cyclocross season, Stybar took a break, then slowly returned to training over the past few months.
Stybar's pursuit of success on the road will be an intriguing one to watch. It will be interesting to see how quickly his obvious talent transfers over to the road. Stybar has of course already achieved success on the road in smaller UCI races around the world, but nothing, as of yet, on the world's biggest stage.
It seems more than likely that the young talent will seamlessly integrate to the road over the course of the year. If Stybar can manage a quick transition, he'll be a huge addition to a team that certainly needs bolstering around its centerpiece, Tom Boonen.
Like Lars Boom, another cyclocross World Champion that has converted to the road, the Czech champion has said that he dreams of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the future.
According to Wielerland.nl, Stybar's debut in Quick-Step colors at Dunkirk will also herald the return of Niki Terpstra, who missed out on all of the Classics due to a freak accident in the final moments of the time trial at the Three Days of De Panne.