The quality of the roster of the first Chinese World Tour team - the current Lampre-Merida team - will be elevated by the signing of a pure talented climber: Darwin Atapuma.

The Colombian has signed a two-year deal with the TJ Sport project.

Jhon Darwin Atapuma Hurtado, born in Tuquerres (Colombia) on January 15 , 1988 is a climber characterized by strenght and by his fighting spirit. He became pro in 2009 and has obtained five victories, the most important in the Carì stage at the 2016Tour de Suisse. In the Vuelta a Espana Atapuma worehe red jersey as leader of the general classification in four stages and he obtained the 2nd place in the summit finish at Alto de Aitana.

In addition to the victories, the Colombian athlete has obtained many other precious results which made him one of the best climbers in the pro world.

Atapuma commented: "My contract will expire at the end of this season and I received many proposals from other teams as well as a proposal for a renewal. However I found the project of TJ Sport very interesting and I decided to join it.

"I spent three interesting years in BMC Racing Team, which I thank for having shared happy moments and for having supported me in difficulties.

"The positive mood which characterizes the project TJ Sport will give me extra motivation to achieve big goals and the advices from a cycling hero like Saronni will also be important".