The NTT Pro Cycling Team announced that Domenico Pozzovivo will join the team in 2020 after recovering from a car accident in Italy in which he suffered multiple fractures to his leg, upper arm, lower arm, and collarbone.

The 37-year-old Italian climber has been working hard on his rehabilitation and recently completed training in warmer climates in Gran Canaria.

He still has surgery to remove the one-kilogram titanium plate and screws used to heal the fracture, but his first major goal for the 2020 season is to compete in the Giro d'Italia with NTT Pro Cycling.

"If I didn't think I could race again, I wouldn't have the fuel to accelerate my recovery," La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Pozzovivo as saying on Monday.

Pozzovivo rode for Bahrain-Merida in 2019, finishing second overall in the Tour of Oman and riding in support of Vincenzo Nibali in the Giro d'Italia. He has competed in 18 Grand Tours and finished in the top 10 seven times; he fractured his tibia and fibula in Stelvio in 2014 and suffered a head injury in a crash at the 2015 Giro d'Italia.

He was scheduled to compete in the 2019 Vuelta a España, but was hit by a car while training near Cosenza in southern Italy, suffering a triple fracture of his left arm and fractures of the tibia and peroneal bones of his right leg.

"I would like to thank Douglas Ryder and the management of NTT Pro Cycling," Pozzovivo said. Pozzovivo said through NTT Pro Cycling:

"Already, after a long hospital stay and rigorous physical therapy, I have begun to persevere in my recovery. I am confident that my recovery will continue in the coming months and that together with my team we can win this bet. I can't wait to see my teammates and staff at the next training camp and get back to racing."

Pozzovivo joins fellow Italians Giacomo Nizzolo and Enrico Gasparotto, under-23 world champion Samuele Battistella, and Matteo Sobrero on the 2020 NTT Pro Cycling roster. Mark Cavendish has moved to Bahrain McLaren, but the African WorldTour team includes Hour record holder Victor Kampenaerts, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Roman Kreuziger, Louis Mainz, and Michael Valgren.

"We are very happy that Domenico has chosen to ride with NTT Pro Cycling for the time being," said team manager Doug Ryder.

"We needed a climbing specialist with GC aspirations to complement the team we have assembled for 2020. Domenico has been very consistent over the years and his experience will be of great value to the younger climbers on the team. In addition, the true grit he has shown since his accident is a testament to his passion and commitment to his own career and to the sport of cycling. We look forward to his contributions."