Former IAM Cycling rider Simon Pellaud has signed with Team Illuminate for the 2017 season. The 24-year-old Swiss rider will join Colombian champion Edwin Avila on the US Continental team after riding at WorldTour level for the past two seasons.
The 2013 Swiss U23 road champion has finished the Vuelta a Espana twice, in 2015 and 2016, earning the jersey for most aggressive rider on stage 3 this year. Pellaud also drew the spotlight in the US this year at the Tour of Utah, where he was a regular feature in the breakaways during the seven-day 2.HC race.
Pellaud and 2016 US elite amateur time trial champion Cameron Piper are the latest riders the team has announced for the 2017 roster. Along with Avila, Griffin Easter, Connor McCutcheon and Cullen Easter will also return for 2017.
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This year proved to be another buyers' market in cycling, with both IAM Cycling and Tinkoff shutting their doors following the season, but Pellaud's team's demise provided him with a chance to fulfil a goal he had already delayed once.
"This year it was really, really hard to find something as exciting as Illuminate, and I'm really happy about getting my signature down there, because for me I've always said that my dream would be to ride once in America and ride the American tours," Pellaud told Cyclingnews on Tuesday. "I was already looking for a team in America before I signed with IAM Cycling, but I had this chance to sign with IAM so I extended that until a little bit later, but here I am."
Before Pellaud could get his spot on the US team, however, he had to convince Team Illuminate principle Chris Johnson that he was ready to step down from the sport's top division to a much smaller Continental team.
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