Australian sprinter Taj Jones can count four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome as a teammate when he joins the UCI WorldTour-level Israel Startup Nation team on a three-year contract starting in 2021. He will be able to count four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome as a teammate.

Jones, whose stage win at the Tour de Langkawi in February was the deciding factor in his signing, will join the Sunshine Coast, Queensland-based Continental-level ARA, part of the Australian Cycling Academy program He will step up from the Pro Racing Sunshine Coast team.

Jones will join his current team in 2019, winning the second stage of this year's Tour de Langkawi ahead of NTT's Max Warscheid (currently competing in the Tour de France) and B&B Hotels Vital Concept's Jeremy LeCroc, and finishing third twice in the Tour de France.

"To be on the same team as legends like Chris Froome and other world-class riders is incredible considering where I came from and where I am headed. I really appreciate the ACA team led by [team founders] Ben Carsten and Matt Wilson, and the support staff including Henk Vogels, Stu Shaw, and USC (University of the Sunshine Coast)-based High Performance Manager Aaron Turner. I am very grateful to them for their guidance and their support of the elite of the cycling world. Their guidance and experience at the elite level of the cycling world certainly helped speed up my progress. [They] have experienced all the mistakes I've made in the past, so I don't have to make them myself, which helps speed up my progress," Jones continued.

"ACA's Pathways program is world-class, with a strong focus on cyclists' on-the-bike and off-the-bike performance.

ACA Managing Director Ben Carsten said, "Taj has shown a strong aptitude for hard work and determination since joining our team after winning the Queensland under-23 title in 2018 and numerous top-10 finishes in the National Series, He has shown a strong aptitude for hard work, determination and a willingness to learn. He is to be congratulated as he is the first rider of ours to reach the essentially highest level of the sport.

"The ACA was created to ensure a pathway for developing young riders to turn pro and compete on the national and international stage. It is a testament to our strong philosophy of "Live, Learn and Ride," which Taj fully embraces, and is certainly one of the factors that impressed the powers that be behind the Israel Startup Nation team," Carsten Carsten said.

Australian former professional athlete Zach Dempster, head sports director of the Israel Cycling Academy, a continental-level development team run by Israel Startup Nation, has apparently recommended his young compatriot to represent the World Tour It seems.

"Taj came to our attention after winning a stage in Langkawi and finishing on the podium against solid professionals. He is a young rider and wasn't quite ready last year, but he made good use of his time to prepare before taking advantage of his first chance to win a high-level sprint. After that win, he went right back to work and his progress in the COVID situation is really exciting," Dempster said.

According to an ACA press release, Jones intends to move to Girona in Spain later this year.