Signing a one-year contract, the 35-year-old Portuguese, after 13 seasons at the highest level, will join a Belgian team for the first time in his career after six years with UAE Team Emirates.
Costa, crowned road world champion in Florence in 2013, will be the first Portuguese rider to wear the colors of the Belgian team. In addition to his world title, 26 other victories are on his list of professional cyclists. Winner of a stage in the 2011 Tour de France at the top of Superbesse, he added two other successes on the Grande Boucle two years later, at the cost of two impressive solo raids in the Alps, in Gap and in Grand-Bornand. He has ten participations in the Tour and two in the Giro and the Vuelta.
Double national champion on the road and against the clock, Rui Costa has forged an impressive track record in the one-week World Tour events. He won the Tour de Suisse three years in a row (2012 and 2014) where he also has 5 stage victories. Winner of the Tour of Abu Dhabi (2017), he finished on the podium of the Tour de Romandie (2012, 2013, 2014, 2019) and the Critérium du Dauphiné (2015). He also won on major classics such as the GP Cycliste de Montréal (2011) and managed to climb to the podium in the Tour of Lombardy (3rd in 2014) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (3rd in 2016).
“I am very happy to receive the chance to contribute to the success of the Intermarché-Wanty Gobert team next season. I will be able to take advantage of new opportunities in this environment where people believe in my value as an athlete. Loyalty, trust and respect are principles to which the team and I attach great importance. I want to show fighting spirit to achieve the goals of the team, and I dream of being able to conquer new victories,” Costa told the training website, which is counting on him to fill the precious role of captain. “He has built an impressive track record by combining talent, hard work and understanding of racing. These are the qualities that will allow riders like Lorenzo Rota or Georg Zimmermann to take a new step in their career. Rui Costa is motivated to pass on his experience and play an important role in the Grand Tours, alongside riders like Louis Meintjes or Biniam Girmay, ”concludes the press release from Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, which announced the arrival in 2023 on Monday. Dutchman Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma).
