Italian cyclist Santaromita signs one-year deal with Skydive Dubai

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  • Santaromita has competed in nine grand tours.

    Former Italian national champion Ivan Santaromita has signed a one-year deal to ride for Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team to boost the UAE outfit’s 2016 roster.

    Santaromita had been riding for Orica-GreenEdge for the past two seasons but described his time with the Australian team as “hell”, as he raced for just 41 days in 2015 and was not selected for a Grand Tour.

    The 31-year-old won the 2013 Italian title while riding for BMC, where he was part of Cadel Evans’ 2011 Tour de France victory, and also took a stage at the Giro del Trentino in 2013.

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    “I’m going to start over with Skydive and I’m sure I can get my career back on track,” Santaromita told Gazzetta dello Sport.

    “It’s true Skydive is only a Continental team but I’ve spoken to (new directeur sportif) Alberto Volpi and (team manager) Ricardo Martins and realised their project is serious. I’ve accepted a one-year contract but if things work out well, I’ll carry on with them.”

    Skydive Dubai – Al Ahli Club are the UAE’s first professional cycling team, created in 2014.

    Their line-up includes veteran Spanish rider Francisco Mancebo, a former fourth-place finisher at the Tour de France, and ex-Lampre-Merida rider, Italian Andrea Palini.

    Mansoor Busaiba, the team’s general manager, said: “It is a step forward in terms of the quality of our squad – another experienced rider that will help with the imp-rovement of our Emirati athletes.”

    Santaromita said he was in talks with several Professional Continental Teams but suggested he was expected to pay money or secure sponsorship to get a contract, which he did not want to do.

    “There were other possible choices but I certainly won’t pay to race with a Professional (Continental team),” Santaromita said. “Now I’m going to put my head down and train hard before my first trip to Dubai on December 10.”

    Skydive Dubai riders have combined for a total of 21 stage wins in various races including a podium clean sweep in Saturday’s opening stage of the Tour of Sharjah.

    Soufiane Haddi won the 140km stage from Sharjah Islamic Bank to Sharjah Expo in 2:32:59 to grab the leader’s jersey, with his team-mates Mancebo, Palini and Rafaa Chtioui taking the next three positions.

    Sunday’s stage two will take the riders across 170km from Sharjah International Airport to Dibba Al Hisn City.

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