Intermarche-Wanti-Gobert Matériau has announced the acquisition of its second major new player of the August transfer window.

Rui Costa, 35, will join the Belgian national team for the 2023 season after six seasons in the UAE. Costa's signing comes a day after the team revealed that classic man and former Tour de France stage winner Mike Tunissen will join from Jumbo Visma on a two-year deal.

Costa, a three-time Tour de Suisse winner and 2013 world champion, is a surprise signing for Intermarche Wanty-Gobert Matériault, but joins as road captain. Costa said he hopes to follow in the footsteps of riders like Line Taaramae and Alexander Kristoff, who have achieved great results since joining the team.

"I am very happy to have the opportunity to contribute to the success of Intermarche Wanti-Gobert Materio next season. This new environment will give me fresh opportunities and they believe in my value as an athlete."

"Loyalty, trust and respect are values that are important to both Intermarche-Wanti-Gobert Materio and myself. I show a fighting spirit to achieve our collective goals and dream of the possibility of winning new victories.

"Riders like Line Taaramae and my former teammates Alexander Christophe and Louis Mainteis are great examples in Intermarche Wanti-Gobert Materio of a wealth of experience and great potential combined with great results. I really want to thank the team for having faith in me.

Intermarche Wanty-Gobert Performance Manager Ike Visbeek said that he and the team have seen what a difference an experienced rider can make in results during the 2022 season and how he can help the next generation of riders. He said they have been working on this.

Costa has a young star, Biniam Girmay, who is under contract through 2026, and neo-pros Dries de Pooter and Madis Michels.

Costa has mainly raced for other riders over the past few seasons, but has had good results here and there, including a top 10 at last year's Tour de Suisse and podiums at the Tour of Saudi Arabia and Tour of Oman this spring.

"We have learned this season that the presence of experienced riders and great champions is a decisive factor for success. So we are happy that Rui Costa will play an important role as captain in difficult races and in the Ardennes Classics.

"He has built a great Palma by combining talent, hard work and race intelligence. This experience and determination will be invaluable for players like Lorenzo Rota and Georg Zimmermann to take the next step. Louis is eager to pass on his experience and play an important role in the Grand Tours with riders like Louis Meintjes and Biniam Guillemay.

"Moreover, he has clear personal ambitions and our team hopes to provide this balance by giving him a prominent position in stage races and hard one-day races that suit him. We look forward to seeing him shine at the start of the season, as he did this spring with GC podiums at the Tour of Saudi Arabia and Tour of Oman. Louis has impressed us with his great ambition and has shown a special interest in our team, convincing us that he is the player we have been looking for."

There were several other developments on the second day of cycling's transfer window, which opened on August 1. The 24-year-old Frenchman spent two and a half seasons with the AG2R youth team before moving on to the senior team. He won the 20th stage of last year's Vuelta a España from the break in Moss. Castro de Herbil.

Elsewhere, former world champion Amalie Dideriksen moves from Trek Segafredo to Uno X. The 26-year-old's victory in Doha six years ago stands out among her record, which includes the 2017 Ronde van Drenthe. She will bolster a second-year Women's World Tour team that includes Hannah Burns and Susanne Andersen.