Spanish cyclist and 2008 Tour de France Champion Carlos Sastre, currently with Cervelo TestTeam, will join Mauro Gianetti's new Geox team next season. Sastre is the first rider chosen by Team Manager Mauro Gianetti for the 2011 Team Geox roster.

"The trust that they‘ve placed in me since the very first conversations has been the most important factor that has pushed me towards this new project, but the background and experience of its leaders has also had an influence as they've been in cycling for years and years", Carlos Sastre said in a statement about his move from Cervelo TestTeam to Team Geox.

"At the moment, I'm enjoying riding more than ever as I've rediscovered the fighting cyclist that's always been inside me. This new challenge is exciting and it will provide me with what I've been fighting for all my life", Sastre added.

Carlos Sastre is excited about the 2010 Vuelta a Espana which will be his last grand Tour riding for Cervelo TestTeam.

"The decision to leave Cervelo TestTeam will not alter anything regarding my participation in the Vuelta a España 2010. What's more, it is spurring me on even more to fight it out in a race that I really like and which I feel a lot of respect and fondness for. Now I just hope that the team will give me the chance to race with team mates who, like me, want to fight in this race", Sastre concluded.

"We met each other and signed a contract in just two days," Team Geox's General Manager Mauro Gianetti said in a statement from the team and added "It was enough to explain him the guidelines of the project from Geox to get an instantly good feeling. All of us have got to know his extraordinary results, but the main reasons to convince myself were his ambition and [high level of professionalism]. I'm confident that Sastre will be able to find new motivation in this new squad. We chose him not only by his big palmarès, but also because of the focus he's setting on the upcoming years."

"We would like to thank Carlos for his contribution to the Cervélo TestTeam in the past two years, and for a great collaboration during his eight years of riding a Cervélo. We have fond memories of this period, with of course his 2008 Tour de France victory as the absolute highlight," Cervelo TestTeam co-owner and Cervélo co-founder Gerard Vroomen told Roadcycling.com and added "We wish him the best for the future and are convinced he will ride a great Vuelta. Our team will support him in the best possible way."

Carlos Sastre has finished six times on the podium in Grand Tours.