Bahrain Merida sign Cink

London : Ondrej Cink is the newest signing for the Bahrain Merida Cycling Team. The 25-year-old mountain biker will change disciplines and take to the road for the new team next year.

Cink joined the Merida Mountain Bike Team in 2012. He finished 14th in the 2012 London Olympics cross country MTB race. He has twice won bronze at the MTB World Championships, in 2010 and 2015, and won bronze at the European Championships in 2010, 2013 and 2016.

“He is a very talented mountain bike rider who will participate with his experiences into the team but on the other hand he will also need a huge support and new knowledge from the team to became familiar with the road racing cycling,” the team said in a press release.

“It was always my dream one day to become a part of the pro tour team and absolve those kinds of races like Tour de France, Giro d’Italia or Vuelta Espana. Now I got the chance to fight for participation on those legendary races,” Cink said.

“So I am really motivated for upcoming season. But I know I will have to learn a lot. I come from mountain biking so I am aware I miss experiences.”

Team General Manager Brent Copeland said, “Ondrej has an incredible ability to race well at high altitude and this is something that we believe will bring him something extra on the road, we believe that at his young age of 25 and combining this with the talent he has shown on the MTB will definitely give him what he needs to bring great results and yet another asset to our team.”

The Bahrain-Merida team now has 22 riders confirmed for the coming season, including multiple Grand Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali.