Cycling: Landa joins Movistar from Team Sky

[August 16, 2017]    (Reuters) - Spanish rider Mikel Landa has left Team Sky and signed a two-year contract with rivals Movistar, the team's general manager said on Tuesday.

Team Sky rider Mikel Landa during a rest day. REUTERS/Robert Pratta

The 27-year-old Landa, who finished fourth in this summer's Tour de France and played a key role in Chris Froome's victory, will race for the Spain-based team in 2018 and 2019.

"It's great news for us," said Eusebio Unzue, the Movistar general manager.

"Being still a young rider and with everything that he’s shown, he should be the rider who leads Spanish cycling for the next few years," he told Cyclingnews.com.

Landa will rival Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde to be lead rider at Movistar.

(Reporting by Neil Robinson, editing by Larry King)

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