Team Sky is delighted to announce that Kanstantsin Siutsou will join the team for the 2012 season.

All-rounder Siutsou burst onto the scene by winning the 2004 World Under-23 Road Race Championship, and claimed his maiden senior national title just two years later. A fine climbing performance saw him secure his first overall triumph at the Tour of Georgia in 2008, but it was the 2009 Giro d’Italia where he first courted global attention after his brave attack on the eighth stage yielded a fine solo victory.

That year Siutsou had also tasted success on the Giro’s opening team time trial, and he would earn similar victories in both the Giro and Vuelta a Espana during a four–year spell with HTC-Highroad.

Siutsou’s progression continued in 2011 as he earned himself a top-10 finish in a brutal Giro d’Italia with six top-10 placings. Another top-10 finish was to follow at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June, and the 29-year-old’s versatility shone through again that month as he won his first Belarus National Time Trial Championship in Mazyr.

Climbing talent

Siutsou said of his move: “I am very happy to be joining Team Sky and look forward to riding with my new team-mates. The team is a strong one and I know a lot of the guys here already. I have ridden in the past with Thomas Löfkvist, Michael Barry, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Michael Rogers and Morris Possoni, and they have all told me how good it is here in terms of the organisation and the way they look after you.

“If I get the chance to show what I can do in the week-long stage races and one of the Grand Tours next year I will be very happy. It was great to finish in the top 10 of the Giro this year, and even though my legs weren’t all that good, I was also able to finish eighth at the Critérium du Dauphiné a few weeks later. Hopefully I will be able to ride even better next year if I have more team-mates there to support me in these types of races.”

Team Sky Principal, Dave Brailsford, said: “In Kanstantsin we have signed a versatile and strong rider who will be a fantastic addition to our team. He showed with his top-10 finish in arguably the hardest ever Giro d’Italia last May what an exciting talent he is. His consistency throughout that race was impressive and he showed why he is so highly regarded within the peloton.

“Kanstantsin is a rider who is also more than happy to dig deep in support of team mates when he is not going for the race win himself. Add to that his strong time trial abilities and you can see how big an asset he will be for Team Sky in 2012.”