The Rally Cycling Pro team announced the signing of 25-year-old American athlete Keegan Swirble on Friday, a day after the team's title sponsor, Rally Health, renewed the deal.

Swirble, the 2015 U23 national champion, comes to the team on a two-year deal after racing as a trainee in the latter stages of Rally Cycling's campaign in Portugal. Swirble finished 9th overall in the GP Internacional Torres Vedras and 15th in the Volta a Portugal.

"I'm really excited to be joining Rally Cycling," Swirble said. They have great management and are moving up the ranks."

Swirble showed early promise in cycling, finishing five minutes ahead of Lance Armstrong in a mountain bike race in his home state of Colorado at age 17. He turned pro with the Bissell Development team, but suffered an overuse knee injury, and after moving from the BMC Development team to Axiom and Jelly Belly, he found success with Floyd Pro Cycling, finishing second overall in the Tour de Langkawi.

After the breakup of Floyd, Swirble looked for a team that could compete in Europe and signed with the Slovenian continental team Ljubljana Gusto Santic. However, due to a coronavirus pandemic, Swirble was unable to travel abroad to race for this team.

"Early in my career, I faced many obstacles. 'I'm grateful for my health and this opportunity with the team. I intend to give it my all."

Once the coronavirus epidemic subsides, Swirble will be able to campaign fully in Europe for the first time in 2021.

"I am really looking forward to being based in Europe full time and competing in a full road program. I feel like it's the right time for me to take a big step in my career."

Men's team director Patrick McCarty said, "Keegan has been on our radar for several years and we jumped at the chance to give him a trainee role in Portugal. We have known for some time that he is a talented climber and we knew right away that he would be able to adapt to Europe and race well."

Keegan's training was a great opportunity for the team.

"He is an essential piece of our North American identity and we expect big things from him in the coming seasons," McCarty added.