Hours after Arnaud Demare's mid-season move from Grupama-FDJ to Arkea-Samsic was announced, Miles Scottson was confirmed to join the team in 2024.

DeMare brokered the move from Groupama-FDJ soon after he was left out of the Tour de France. The Frenchman signed a contract with Arkea-Samsic until the end of 2025.

Scotson also signed a two-year contract with Arkea-Samsic, but will remain a Groupama-FDJ rider throughout 2023 and will team up with Demare again next season. The Australian has been racing for Groupama-FDJ since 2019, most notably in the 2020 and 2022 Giro d'Italia, where he played a key role in De Mare's lead-out train.

"Myles Scottson will be joining me for the next two years, which is a sign of confidence for the team," DeMare told reporters on a video call Tuesday afternoon. 'I know that for the rest of the season we have some very good athletes who can do the sprints. It will take time to get to know each other, but it's a good challenge."

Nasser Bouhanni, who had a fierce rivalry with DeMare during their FDJ days, is one of DeMare's new teammates. However, De Mare insisted that there were no ill feelings between the two, who competed for the national title and the team's sprint slot in the Tour de France.

"Nasser and I were on the same team and there was a lot of rivalry, but it was a move.

"Contrary to what is said in the papers, we respect each other very much. We were competing in the same race, so there was a lot of rivalry, but I think Nasser and I have more in common than any of the other competitors."

De Mare will make his Arcare Samsic debut at the Tour of Leuven on August 15 and has announced that he will not compete in the Vuelta a España. His program will include the BEMER Si Classic, Tour of Benelux, Grand Prix de Fourmise, Tour de Vendée, European Championships in Drenthe, and Paris-Tours.

"I won't be competing in the Vuelta this year and the last few weeks have been hard psychologically. I haven't been able to train the way I need to for a race like the Vuelta. I couldn't train the way I needed to for a race like the Vuelta."

Demare would not talk about his exclusion from the Groupama-FDJ Tour team and the breakdown of his relationship with his manager, Marc Madiotte.

"I saw the Tour de France. It was brilliant, a super duel that we were all excited about. I don't want to comment on what happened. I think Marc Madiot needs a little more time to digest.

Demare revealed that he was considering a move to a team abroad when it became clear that he would not stay at Grupama FDJ, but after discussions with coach Emmanuel Hubert, he ultimately chose Arkea Samsic.

"It was important for me to find a team that would trust me.