Kevin Vermaquet, 19, the latest of Axel Merckx's Hagens Berman Axiom's U23 riders to graduate straight to the World Tour, has signed a three-year contract with Team Sunweb, the team announced Friday.

Vermaquet, winner of the 2019 U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, is already on Sunweb's radar, having invited the American to the team's off-season training camp in southeastern Spain last December.

"Stepping up to the WorldTour is something I've dreamed about and aimed for since I started cycling," said Vermaquet. Team Sunweb invited me to their training camp in Calpe last December. I felt welcome at the camp and got to see how organized and professional the team was."

"I was very excited to be a part of the team.

"Team Sunweb has invested in young talent over the past few years. I think Team Sunweb is a great place to continue my development and discover what kind of rider I can be," added Vermaquet.

The move comes at a time when U23 riders are struggling to find races in which they can excel after the Tour de l'Avenir was canceled and the UCI Road World Championships were cancelled by Swiss organizers due to coronavirus concerns.

Vermaquet, in his second year at Espoir, was hampered by the coronavirus outbreak, but had a solid Tour de Ain in early August and proved his climbing ability by challenging the Everest summit record near his home in California.

Three riders from the 2019 Axeon team, Ian Garrison and Joan Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) and Mikkel Bjarg (UAE Team Emirates), moved to the World Tour team this year. This year was a challenge for the team as there were only four days of racing.

Fortunately, Vermaerke had already impressed Team Sunweb with his performance and conduct during their training camp.

"As a first year U23, he had a tremendous win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, highlighting his ability as a puncher and his ability in the hilly Ardennes," said Sunweb coach Rudy Chemna. Sunweb coach Rudy Kemna said, "We believe he is capable of competing in races like this in the future, and together with our team of experts, trainers, and coaches, we will work toward that goal." In the recent Tour de Ain, he proved that he can run even on long climbs, so we will also aim to improve his all-around ability and see where his true potential lies."