Mikel Landa (opens in new tab) told Cycling News (opens in new tab) that one of the main reasons he is moving to Bahrain-Merida (opens in new tab) for 2020 is to clarify team leadership. With Vincenzo Nibali moving to Trek-Segafredo, Landa will join Bahrain-Merida next season as leader of the Tour de France (opens in new tab) and stage races.

Wout Poels has also signed a new team manager, Rod Ellingworth, and Rohan Dennis' future with the team is still uncertain after his sudden abandonment at the Tour de France.

Landa's race program has not yet been finalized, but he will likely target the Tour de France.

"I am very excited. Bahrain-Merida will be freshening up with McLaren and I'm happy to have the chance to lead them. I don't know what my program is yet, and I still have to talk about it, but the Tour de France is the target for the team. I am ready to lead the team. I have that goal and I've been looking for it," Landa told Cycling News.

"It's a big team, they like Grand Tours, and they gave me a chance to be a leader. 'We don't know yet who's coming, but they're certainly building a big team for the Grand Tour. I'm not worried."

He is unfazed by the thought of added pressure on a team that aims to eventually end Team Ineos' domination of the Tour. I don't know which Grand Tour I will be in, but it will probably be the Tour," he said. There is pressure, but I am ready. If I have everything I need, then all I have to do is get on the bike."

He is also a very confident rider.

The 29-year-old Spanish rider has spent the past two seasons with Movistar and has enjoyed a leadership position, but with the team's decision to contest a three-pronged attack at the Tour, the caveat of sharing responsibility with Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana always It came with the territory. At this year's Giro d'Italia, Landa found himself behind teammate and eventual winner Richard Carapas. This is a story that has plagued Landa for most of his career. In Astana, he was forced to sacrifice his chances for Fabio Aru, and in Team Sky, he was further down the order because of his Grand Tour weapons.

Bahrain-Merida announced the addition of Wout Poels, but Landa will remain a key GC rider next year. Landa has five top-10 finishes in Grand Tours and has finished in the top 10-7 in all of his last four races. Even if he is an unfinished and sometimes frustrating rider, his consistency over three weeks is impressive. He says, "First of all, they were very interested in me a few years ago, and I've been working with them for a while now.

Leaving Movistar will mark the end of two years with the Spanish team for Landa. Although he was a consistent performer for Movistar, he rarely won races and took only two individual overall victories.

On the issue of Grand Tours and leadership, he describes the situation as "complicated," especially in light of the team's decision to appoint multiple leaders to the Tour de France over the past two years. He said, "Yes, it is. If you have teammates who have the same goals as you, it makes it more complicated because you have to work for two teammates instead of one. If you are doing well one day and your teammate is not doing well the next, you end up having to take care of him. It's more complicated. In the Tour, the three of us rode together with the goal of getting on the podium, and that's not an easy thing to do. But it's not up to me. It's not up to me, it's up to the management. I may not have won as much as I hoped, but I learned a lot and had a good experience with my teammates." The move to Bahrain-Merida will also link Landa with Ellingworth, who he worked with at Team Sky. With Poels joining the team and Britain's Scott Davies waiting in the wings, the team is looking to increase its stage race slots. I met Rod at Team Sky. I'm very excited. He has a lot of experience and I think he is very good at controlling everything," Landa said. It is not known if Rohan Dennis will be with the team by the time he arrives for the 2020 season. The Australian has not raced for Bahrain-Merida since abandoning the Tour de France in July. I don't know if he will be with us. He has a lot of time trial experience and I need that," Landa concluded.