Italian continental formation Amore & Vita has signed promising Belgian climber Kristof Vollon for next season. Amore & Vita’s manager, Cristian Fanini, has made it a habit of picking up relatively unknown talents each year and giving them a chance to make it as a professional.

“For 2010 it will be Kristof’s turn. He was born in 1986 and is a pure climber who has lived in Italy for the last two years. Until now he has ridden as an amateur where he had numerous successes including the Gran Fondo Michele Bartoli. Our choice was not a coincidence,” he told Tuttobiciweb.

It wasn’t Vollon’s race results that caught Fanini’s eye, but the recommendation from a mutual friend.

“Vollon was highly recommended by a mutual friend for whom I have deep appreciation and respect for and I trust blindly. I think he is the best scout for cyclists in the world. I then began to follow his results and saw his talent, so I decided to give him a chance,” Fanini explained.

Fanini hopes the 23-year-old, who only started competing at the age of 18, will perform well in his first year as a professional. “Certainly it will not be easy for him, this world of cycling is very different from the one he was accustomed to, but I’m sure that he will succeed,” explained Fanini.

He added: “Particularly because he has always raced clean, and I believe that the future of cycling is reserved only for that type of rider, those on bread and water.”

Vollon, 23, will be racing alongside the following riders that have been confirmed by the Italian news site: Uzbek Konstantin Volik, Poland’s Jaroslaw Dabrowski, Russian Vladisav Borisov, Ukrainians Yuri Metlushenko and Serhy Grechyn, and American Chad Gerlach. The other riders for 2010 will be presented in the coming days.