Spanish sprinter Juan José Lobato will join team LottoNL-Jumbo for the next two years, 2017 and 2018. Lobato already won four races in 2016. He wants to keep improving in the sprints and in the Ardennes Classics with the Dutch WorldTour team.

“Lobato is a strong addition in our plan towards 2018,” Technical Director Nico Verhoeven said. “He is a decent rider uphill and in tough finishes. He’s able to compete for the victories, especially when the finishes are slightly uphill.”

Perfect sense

Lobato rode for Andalucía, Euskaltel-Euskadi and Movistar so far in his professional career and won 15 races – four from this year. “I’m really happy to join Team LottoNL-Jumbo for the next two seasons,” Lobato added. “I felt that I needed a change for 2017 and to sign for a Dutch Team is important in the development of my skills in the sprints and classics. If you want to be a big sprinter and a big rider in one-day races then joining team LottoNL-Jumbo makes perfect sense.”

Lobato will link up with team stars including Dutchmen Steven Kruijswijk and Dylan Groenewegen. “Everyone sees that Team LottoNL-Jumbo is working well with overall riders like Steven Kruijswijk, but they are also doing a fantastic job with young and fast talents like Dylan Groenewegen. That helped in my decision to sign for this team. I want to learn from the trainers and grow in the team’s structure.”