Julien Alaphilippe has left Soudal-Quick Step after 12 seasons with the company and signed a three-year deal with Tudor Pro Cycling beginning in 2025.

The deal, announced Monday morning, confirms Cycling News' report in early August that he was close to signing, and follows an impressive list of signings by Swiss teams including Marc Hirsch (UAE Team Emirates).

Alaphilippe's departure from Sourdal-Quick Step followed a tumultuous year between the two-time world champion Frenchman and team manager Patrick Lefebvre. However, Lefebvre had announced his intention to extend his contract with Alaphilippe amid a flurry of rival teams.

Tudor Pro Cycling, owned by Classics legend and Cycling News columnist Fabian Cancellara starting in 2022, will enter the UCI Continental Tour in 2019, and in 2023 will be at the UCI Pro Team level Jump up.

The signing of Alaphilippe and Hirschi is a major step forward for the team and positions Tudor as a strong candidate for promotion to the World Tour. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]