Benoot said: “I was looking for a team with a professional and scientific approach where I can make the next steps forward in my career; that’s why I chose Team Sunweb. I’m looking forward to joining a strong group of classics riders at the team, where I believe we can achieve some great results in the coming years. My biggest goal is to further grow and develop as a rider in general and turn that into results with the team.” Team Sunweb coach Marc Reef added: “We are very happy that Tiesj is joining our team and we can continue his journey to become the best rider possible. Tiesj is someone we have been following for quite a while and there was already contact with him in the past. From the moment he turned professional he showed that he is one of the riders that was always there in the finals of the tough Flemish classics, and was already close to winning one early in his career. He has also showed his versatility in stage races like Tirreno Adriatico, Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse; proving how strong a rider he is. As well as adding firepower to our classics squad alongside guys like Michael [Matthews] and Søren [Kragh Andersen], we’ll also look to achieve more top results in the difficult stage races, using his diverse strength as a rider.”