Bahrain-Merida has signed Mark Cavendish for the 2020 season. Cavendish joins the team from Dimension Data, where he spent the past four seasons.

Cavendish will be reunited with his former coach Rod Ellingworth, who has just been named Bahrain Merida's team principal. Ellingworth coached Cavendish at the British Cycling Academy and led the British team that won the 2011 Copenhagen World Championships with Cavendish.

"Joining this team is the fulfillment of a long-held dream for me, very exciting and motivating," Cavendish said in a statement released on Friday.

"You could even say it's a dream come true. Having worked closely with McLaren in the past and having seen the benefits of their technology and processes, I jumped at the opportunity"

. [My relationship with Rod is quite old and has helped me grow as a rider and as a person. I can't wait to join my new teammates and do my best to achieve the success I know will come."

Ellingworth welcomed new additions such as Mikkel Landa and Wout Poels, Tour de France stage winner Dylan Tuns, and Phil Bauhaus and Sonny Colbrelli.

"The signing of Marc completes our roster for 2020 and provides the balance the team needs to win. Mark is a proven champion and has a lot to contribute both on and off the bike," Ellingworth said. 'Having last worked with him at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the Qatar World Championships, I'm delighted to see his energy and determination to succeed growing like never before. We will do everything in our power to ensure he performs to the best of his ability."

Cavendish debuted with Dimension Data in 2016 and had a great season, winning four stages and wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, but the next two seasons were ruined by the Epstein-Barr virus and a string of crashes. His last victory was a stage win at the Dubai Tour in February 2018.

Cavendish said he fell below the Epstein-Barr threshold in May 2019, but his last season with Dimension Data was a difficult one. He failed to win and, despite vocal opposition from performance director Rolf Aldag, was omitted from selection for the Tour de France. Cavendish, who is currently competing on the track at the London Six, abandoned the Paris-Tour in early October, bringing the curtain down on his road season.

It remains to be seen what race program the 34-year-old Cavendish will participate in in 2020, but he seems eager to return to the Tour, which he missed last July for the first time in his 13-year professional career. Cavendish has won 30 stages at the Tour and took the green jersey in 2011. He has won points (2013) and 15 stages at the Giro d'Italia, three stages and points at the 2010 Vuelta a España, and won the Milano-San Remo in 2009.