Laurens ten Dam bolsters Giant-Alpecin squad

Giant-Alpecin adds mountain support in the shape of Lauren ten Dam as the team reshapes itself to target Grand Tours.

Laurens ten Dam will be joining Giant-Alpecin as a mountain domestique for 2016. Source: Getty Images

The team has signed the Dutch climber for the 2016 season, citing his experience and tactical knowledge as a deciding factor.

"We were looking for a rider who is strong in the high mountains to support our GC riders and who also fit in with the profile and philosophy of the team, and in Laurens we have found that rider," said coach Rudi Kemna said:

"Although the team’s execution of its 'Keep Challenging' sports approach commonly leads to identifying and recruiting talented riders at a younger age and then guiding them to their peak performance years, the relatively ‘older’ ten Dam was recruited for a particular task in the overall team."

Ten Dam currently rides for LottoNL-Jumbo, but has been out of action since the Tour de France due to injury.

“I broke my back two weeks after the Tour de France, which made me step back and look at a few things differently,” said ten Dam. “I wanted to do a good season in Europe and live in the US.

"At Team Giant-Alpecin all this came together in a good way, and I will have those opportunities. I am looking forward to working in a challenging new environment."

Ten Dam will play a key role as a mountain domestique for general classification riders Tom Dumoulin and Warren Barguil. His signing will help Giant-Alpecin's evolution into a team capable of challenging for overall victory in Grand Tours - as shown by Dumoulin's breakout performance in the Vuelta a Espana this year. This evolution has already seen sprinter Marcel Kittel depart for Etixx-Quickstep.