British young prospect Ethan Hayter will turn road pro in 2020, signing with Team Ineos.

Already a world champion on the track, the 21-year-old will join on a three-year professional contract after an impressive second half of 2018 as a stadia rider for the British team.

Hayter won gold with the British Team Pursuit team at last year's Track World Championships, where Ed Clancy described him as "the next Bradley Wiggins." He then went on to win more track medals at the European Championships, Commonwealth Games, and this year's World Championships, and in 2019 he impressed on the road with stage wins at the U23 Giro d'Italia and Tour de Lavenir.

Hayter will continue to combine road and track in his first season with Ineos, splitting the year in two. The first half of the year will be dedicated to the Tokyo Olympics in July, where he will be aiming for gold in the Omnium, Team Pursuit, and Madison.

"It's a great place to start my career as a professional road rider and a great place for the Olympics coming up next year," Hayter said in a Team Ineos statement. [Hayter released a statement from Team Ineos, saying, "There are so many riders on this team from which to draw inspiration. Egan [Bernal], Pavel [Sivakov], and Tao [Geoghegan Hart] are getting a chance in the Grand Tours, and there are other young riders like Chris Lawless [with whom he raced under 23 not long ago] winning the Tour de Yorkshire.

Hayter competed in four races in 2018 while riding as a stagiaire for Ineos (then Team Sky), all one-day events in Italy. Two of them, Coppa Agostoni and Coppa Sabatini, were won by teammate Gianni Moscon.

During this period, he wore the colors of the British national team, recording four top-10 finishes at the Tour of Britain (notably fourth in Bristol, behind Julian Alaphilippe), and fifth and eighth in the world championship U23 time trial and road race respectively and 8th in the U23 time trial and road race at the World Championships, respectively.

After winning silver and bronze medals at the track world championships, Hayter also excelled on the road this year, winning the A Travers les Eaux-de-France, the prologue and opening road stage of the U23 Giro d'Italia, and a stage at the Tour de Lavenir. However, a broken collarbone and a fall in a prestigious French race forced him to miss the world championships in Yorkshire.

"The Baby Giro and the Tour de Laveneil are the biggest races at the under-23 level, and he won stages in both of them.

"In Baby Giro I finished 6th in one of the mountain stages, so I was up there in the climbs and in the sprints. So I have to find out which type of race suits me best.

Hayter is the fourth signing for Team Ineos, following Brandon Rivera and Carlos Rodriguez. The British team also signed Giro d'Italia winner Richard Kalapas and is likely to acquire Andrei Amador and Rohan Dennis.

Hayter's arrival continues a concerted investment in youth over the past few years: since the 2016-17 transfer window, the average age of newcomers has been just over 23, with 14 of 22 under 23.

"Ethan is an exciting young rider who has already had great success at the junior level. His signing is a further commitment to our long-term future as Team Ineos," said team manager Dave Brailsford.

"We now have a really exciting group of young riders. They all have the opportunity to compete and train with more senior and experienced teammates and learn from them what it takes to win. Ethan is at a critical stage in his professional development and we are all excited about what lies ahead for him as part of the team."