Never being the fastest or strongest rider of the pack, usually slightly underrated, Rui Costa always seemed to understand the importance of the right timing and mastered the art of transferring little opportunities into convincing victories to the perfection. However unquestionable wit and instinct presented by the 27-year old Portuguese were never enough for his former employers at the Movistar to offer him some greater chances of testing himself as a leader of the World Tour squad, and thus his decision of changing team colors didn’t come as a big surprise.

The choice to join Lampre-Merida probably didn’t occur as the most obvious decision at first, but knowing the taste of racing as a domestique in the one of the strongest World Tour squads, Costa could rather deliberately pick the huge amount of freedom guaranteed in the Italian team, remaining the shadow of its former self.

Former Lampre-Merida general manager responsible for finalizing an agreement with the Portuguese just before he became a newly crowned World Champion, Giuseppe Saronni, believes that Costa is a complete rider capable of achieving great results in the major cycling events, including the Tour the France.

“Given his qualities, he can certainly finish in the top positions in the ranking,” Saronni told Portuguese sports daily O Jogo.

Spending his stint in the Movistar team mostly on riding in the support of his leaders, Costa still managed to create his own chances, winning Tour de Suisse for last two consecutive years of claiming two stage victories at the Tour the France last edition.

However, the 27-year old Portuguese was never provided with a chance to lead a team in the grand tour race and he is yet to confirm his capability to handle the pressure connected with an increased level of responsibility.

“Rui has never had the opportunity to ride the Tour with the objective of the general (classification) and having a team at his disposal. A result in top three is an ambitious, elusive target, but we'll see what Rui can do. The team has great confidence in him.”

The bright intelligence of Costa, a quality as important for Saronni as his unquestionable versatility, was emphasized by the conclusion of the World Championship road race in Florence, when the Portuguese very typically picked the best possible moment and outsmarted Spanish duo to earn himself a right to sport the rainbow jersey throughout the 2014 season. Thus, the Lampre-Merida manager had no doubts about offering him the chance to shine and possibly contributing in the revival of the once successful Italian squad.

“Rui is a big athlete with amazing talent for cycling, so we had no doubt about his recruitment. So far, I see no fault in him as a cyclist. He is a very complete rider and a very intelligent person,” he explains.

“In Italy, we say that he is a person with his head on his shoulders. He is a very smart lad, polite and knows how to behave and what to do to achieve the objectives. The relationship we have established is optimal. He is a runner who deserves the joys that are living and may have even more success in the future.”

Saronni admitted that there was another key factor in taking on Costa, Lampre’s factory in Portugal. As the new World Champion, his arrival will bring a lot of good publicity to the team. With 25 riders and staff, including Saronni and Cunego, under suspicion in the Mantova doping investigation, this can only bee a good thing.

Costa began his season at the Dubai Tour, where he showed his new kit on stage three, when he went on the attack. He finished 15th overall and has now returned to Europe to take part in the Mallorca Challenge this week.