After a few seasons with Team Sky, Nico Roche will move on to BMC, where he hopes to catapult former teammate Richie Porte to more Tour de France success.

"It's a new team and new ambitions for myself. I've had an amazing time here at Sky and it was incredible to win the Tour with Chris last year. It was an adventure but I'm ready for a new chapter. I'm looking forward to riding with Richie and I've got a few friends at BMC."

The Irish Road and TT champion will bring climbing legs that can lead stage race teams as well as provide support in the high mountains of Grand Tours. This is an area Roche says BMC needed to impove in.

"I hope I can bring something more than just cycling capabilities and hopefully I can help to get the team right," he said. "I've noticed this year that sometimes their leaders are quickly isolated and one of my main strengths will be trying to bring that group back together."

Roche says he expects to follow Porte’s program in 2017, including a Tour Down Under return, a nation which caused Roche grief this year when he was bitten by a spider and duly hospitalised in the 2015 offseason while on his honeymoon. This caused his hand to swell and he missed almost a week of training as a consequence.

"Richie threw that at me last week. I said that after my spider bite I wasn't going to go back there but I might have to go back on my decision. I've not discussed my full programme with the team but it makes sense that I go back there."