UAE cycling team signs Colombia’s Henao from Sky

Dubai: UAE Team Emirates have signed Team Sky’s Colombian national road race champion Sergio Henao Montoya on a two-year deal starting in 2019.

The 30-year-old climb specialist turned professional in 2007 and has 19 wins to date, including two consecutive national championships in 2017 and 2018, and a Paris-Nice victory in 2017. A statement said his attributes would bring a new dimension to the team, making them a contender in short stage races, Grand Tour stages and one-day races. He recently finished 28th in the general classification of the Vuelta a Espana, and his stamina and consistency will be valuable, especially over three-week tours.

Henao will be joined by fellow Colombian Christian Munoz. Munoz is the latest in a host of young riders to sign for the team this year, and at just 22-years of age, he is considered to be one of the most exciting prospects in cycling. Munoz won a stage of the Giro d’Italia Under-23 and maintained the lead position in a peloton along the climbs of the Tour de L’Avenir, which was won by future teammate Tadej Pogacar, who has also now joined the UAE outfit.