A good part of the 2013 Tour de France will be remembered for the two stages won by Rui Costa who stamped his mark on the race, nailing two extraordinary breakaways to Gap and to Le Grand Bornand.

These are well known examples that give an idea of the top quality of the twenty-six years old rider from Póvoa de Varzim, who has obtained 17 victories in his career, most important of which are two final classifications triumphs in Tour de Suisse (2012 and 2013), Super Besse stage in Tour de France 2011 and Gp Montreal 2011.

Rui Costa is competitive on every kind of course; he’s a strong rouleur (current Portuguese time trial champion) and a quick climber, so he’ll be able to add value to the Lampre-Merida team.

Rui Costa explained why he chose to join Lampre-Merida, while he received many offers from other top teams: “In the past years I have maintained a regular course of improvement that allowed me to achieve amazing victories. I think it’s now time for me, in this moment of my career, to aim at an even more important target: fighting for a top result in the classification of a stage race such as the Tour de France. I think that Lampre-Merida could provide the best framework for me to try to achieve this goal, I’m sure I made the best choice.”