Colombia will have a new rider among the professionals in Europe: Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez, a young 20-year-old talent, has received the vote of confidence from Willier-Southeast that he will join in 2017.

Florez has improved consistenty since his breakthrough at the 2014 Vuelta al Porvenir where he got a stage win, the mountains jersey and a podium spot. Riding for Loteria de Boyaca, he showed his qualities before moving to the under 23 category where he was awarded the title of best rookie at the 2015 Tour of Colombia in his first year.

However, the final step to be considered as a huge talent of international cycling came at the Tour de L'Avenir where he was third in the mountains classification despite working for Egan Bernal, Jhon Anderson Rodriguez and Daniel Martinez who will be his teammate next year.

"Daniel is a great teammate. We will be supporting each other," he said.

Besides being a good climber, Florez has also done successful time trials. This was demonstrated at the last U23 National Championships where he won the bronze medal.

"Arriving in Europe is a dream I have had a long time. This year I was given the opportunity to be in the team for the Tour de L'Avenir which was one of my big goals. Now I will go to a professional continental team. I feel very happy and doing WorldTour races will make it a year of great learning," said Florez, who will be under the orders of the Italian team manager Angelo Citracca.

"You always hope to adapt quickly, learn from them, get some wins in races and gradually achieve the goals that you have in Europe. I've always dreamed of the Giro d'Italia and the team may be doing it. If we ride, I want to be on the start list," concluded Florez.