The Dutch cyclist will ride for the Spanish team in 2021 and 2022.

Movistar say the signing of Van Vleuten will see the team take a definitive leap in their aspirations to become a benchmark team in the UCI Women's WorldTour peloton, having been an established force in the men’s peloton.

"My link with the Movistar Team goes back a long way," said Van Vleuten.

"I got to know the team better in some high altitude concentrations in Sierra Nevada that I did in 2014, and in which I coincided with part of the men's team.

"One of the coaches invited me to ride one day with them and I loved the experience.

"For me they were from the first moment like my "Spanish family."

"I felt very comfortable, they were the first team of boys to invite me to train with them on long days, and the atmosphere was very pleasant.

"We trained quietly, they waited for me after the climbs, each one did their work and every day, after dinner, you could tell that there was good vibes in the team.

"With the women's team, the feeling is the same.

"They seem like a wonderful group of girls to me and they give me the same feeling that I experienced with the boys in Sierra Nevada.

"The project as such attracts me, I also really want to work with all the staff and I have already spoken with the head of performance Patxi Vila.

"I want to improve together with all of them, to enjoy these years that come together and I want to continue exploiting what I have inside."

Van Vleuten was crowned women’s road race world champion last year in Yorkshire after a solo breakaway, while she earned the elite time trial title in 2017 and 2018.

The Dutch star last month secured the European road race title in Plouay before competing at La Course by the Tour de France, an event she has won twice in her career.

Van Vleuten has also won the Giro Rosa on two occasions with her current team Mitchelton-Scott, triumphing in both 2018 and 2019.

The 37-year-old has also won Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Flanders.

"The arrival of Annemiek is a before and after for the Movistar Team," said Sebastián Unzué, Movistar team manager.

"So far, it has been three years of hard work to create a solid, ambitious project that would allow us to aspire to great goals, and its arrival gives us the definitive boost.

"Annemiek is the ideal person to lead this project, someone who perfectly represents many of the sporting and human values that this team has always wanted to instil in its members.

"I admire her work ethic, perseverance, honesty, camaraderie and sacrifice.

"Her mentality fits in an ideal way with how we always work here, and for all our human group, runners and staff, her arrival will be a huge step forward.

"I have always believed that great runners grow best in the shadow of great leaders, and our young talents will have in Annemiek the best mirror, the example of what is, without a doubt, the best runner in the world."