Sam Welsford, an Olympic silver and bronze medalist in track team pursuit, has shifted his focus to European road racing, signing with Team DSM for the next two seasons.

A four-time world champion Australian on the track, Welsford not only competes regularly in national road series, but has also competed in international road races in recent years. However, this will be his first time competing in a European World Tour race. He will be the lead trainer supporting Team DSM sprinter Cees Bol.

"I am really happy to be joining Team DSM in 2022. Team DSM is a team known for developing riders to a really high level and I can't wait to work with the staff and riders who will be leading the charge," said Welsford in a statement from the team.

"Next year I will be learning the ins and outs of sprinting on the World Tour, but I hope to learn quickly and help the team achieve good results.

The 2020 Australian criterium champion, who also won the Bay Critz earlier this year, was focused on the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but was also active on the road while racing for Team Garmin Australia. He won a tight sprint on the final stage of this year's Santos Festival of Cycling, the 1.1km Victoria Park Circuit in Adelaide.

"Sam has spent a lot of time in track racing, but he will use his power and experience to turn to full-time road racing with us," said Rudy Chemuna, head of coaching for Team DSM. [Motivated and driven, Sam will fit in well with our way of working. We look forward to working closely with him and our team of experts to help him take the next step and reach the next level

"Having combined both disciplines in the past, Sam has built up really good skills with regard to positioning and tactics, and next season will bring that added value to the sprint group within the team as we look for further success."

Team DSM has also announced further signings, with Dutch multi-discipline cyclist Joost Brinkmann joining the development team, Tim Naberman joining the development team to the WorldTour team, and Martin Tusfeldt will extend his contract through the 2022 season.