Rob Power signs with Sunweb

Sunweb announced overnight its signing of young Aussie Rob Power to a two-year deal from 2019.

Rob Power during Stage 6 of the 2018 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah (Getty) Source: Getty

In only his second year on the UCI WorldTour, Power finished an impressive sixth at the 2018 Strade Bianche and claimed his first victory as a fully fledged pro at the Spanish one-day 2018 Prueba Villafranca-Ordiziako Klasika.

This followed excellent results early in his burgeoning career but his scheduled WorldTour debut in 2016 with Mitchelton-Scott was delayed by a rare Bone Marrow Oedema Syndrome diagnosis in the latter half of 2015. The Aussie registered squad held his spot open and allowed time for Power to recover and he did so in spades.

In late 2016 after his return to racing, he took third in the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race. A few weeks earlier, he was scheduled in for his first WorldTour race - Il Lombardia, the year team mate Esteban Chaves won - but he was late to the sign in and couldn't make it back to the race. 

Apart from this hiccup, the Australian hasn't looked back. 

“I am very excited to join Team Sunweb," Power said in the team announcement. "I chose to sign with the team because I really like the way the team operates and I think it’s a good environment for me to continue my development as a rider.

"I also appreciate that they see my potential as a rider and I’m looking forward to taking the next steps here. I think there is a great support structure surrounding the team which I am very much looking forward to being a part of.”

With his climbing engine, Sunbweb hopes to add 'firepower' to the squad for three-week races. 

“Robert was a world class U23 rider taking lots of promising results at the beginning of his career and has been on our radar since then," Sunweb's Marc Reef said. "We are very happy to have signed him. He had a difficult few years after turning professional but we believe that he has the potential to make the next steps in his development with the team."

"He has that very typical physiological skill set which we were looking for to strengthen our roster for a three week race at high level and big intensity. He has a big engine and with the capacity to recover fast he can perform on a very high level in the decisive part of three week stage races.

"He joins the team initially in a support role but we will provide him with everything needed to make the next steps in his development over the upcoming years to see where it could lead to.”