World road race champion Cadel Evans has signed a three-year contract with the BMC Racing Team.

The 32-year-old Australian, who has twice finished runner-up in the Tour de France, negotiated his release from Silence-Lotto over the weekend.

He has now penned a deal with the American-based Swiss-backed BMC squad, who have already recruited George Hincapie and Alessandro Ballan, Evans' predecessor as world champion.

Evans said: "A great opportunity has come for me to join a growing team of like minded individuals at BMC.

"I look forward to working with the BMC group toward the same goals including the Tour de France.

"Obviously, I would like to do better than my two second places at the Tour de France."