Mitchelton Scott (open in new tab) has announced the signing of Sophie de Vuyst (open in new tab) for 2020. The Belgian will join the Australian national team after a season at Parkhotel Valkenburg (open in new tab).

The 32-year-old de Wuist has raced for eight teams in his 10-year professional career, starting with TopSport Van Deren and spending five years with Lotto Soudal. This season he scored the biggest win of his career with Brabantse Pijl and also won the Festival Elsy Jacobs and the mountain class of the Lotto Belgium Tour.

"Joining Mitchelton Scott is very special. It is a great honor to ride with this team and I think it is a really professional team in all aspects," de Wuyst said in a team statement.

"I am looking forward to working with Annemieke van Fluten, one of the best climbers and GC riders in the world. This is truly an honor and I will do my best to help Anne-Mike."

"I want to be an important supporter for Anne-Mike and Amanda Spratt in the hill climb race. I hope to reach the same level as this year and that way I can be a strong supporter in the finals of the big races. Of course, it would also be great to win a UCI race myself.

"I like hilly and hard courses and I'm good at sprinting after hilly races. My favorite races are the Tour de Flanders and the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, because I use these as training courses.

De Wuyst will raise the team's expectations for the cobbles and the Ardennes Classics. This year, Van Vleuten won in Liège and finished second in Flanders, the Amstel Gold Race, and La Flèche Wallonne.

The team's sporting director said he expects de Vruyst to show leadership in some races while also excelling in others.

"Sophie is a rider who can fit into different types of races. She is a Belgian rider, so she knows the courses of the classics well, and she is good at climbing, so she can do well in the harder cobbled classics," Vestby said.

"We felt we needed to strengthen this area for this type of race, especially the Ardennes-style hilly races. She not only strengthens the team, but gives us a new card to play. She also climbs well in races like the Giro Rosa, so she is a rider we can use in many different races and in many different roles."

"She raced this year while working full time as a teacher. So we're hoping that being with us next year will allow her to work less and focus more on cycling, which will take her to another level.

De Vuyst will compete in both the mixed relay and road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire (open in new tab).