The 29-year old brings a wealth of experience to Team Sky from his seven years in the professional ranks. He joins from Team Pegasus Racing after the new Australian team was unable to secure a UCI Professional Continental licence.

Knees is the seventh new arrival to Team Sky before the team's second season. Other riders who have joined Sky are David Appollonio, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Rogers, Alex Dowsett, Rigoberto Urán and Xabier Zandio.

Commenting on the signing of Christian Knees, Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford told Roadcycling.com and Roadcycling.mobi "Christian is a super strong all-rounder who has had some terrific results, but I still don't think we have seen the best of him yet and hopefully we can help him fulfil his massive potential at Team Sky."

Brailsford added "His personality is one that will fit well into the team and we are delighted to have such an experienced rider on board. He has a lot of capabilities in a lot of areas and will increase the depth of ability we have here. It's exciting to have secured his services."

Knees began his pro cycling career with Team Wiesenhof back in 2004. A string of top 10 finishes earned him a ProTour contract with the then newly-formed Team Milram in 2006 and in his first season with Milram he took his first pro race victory with a late solo attack in the 2006 Rund um Köln and made his debut in the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, working primarily in support of the team's sprinters.

His first general classification victory came in the 2008 Bayern Rundfahrt and a top-five finish followed in stage nine of the Tour de France before his runners-up spot at the Sparkassen Giro Bochum capped an encouraging season for Knees.

The following season, in 2009, Knees' versatility shone through again with top 10 finishes in the GP di Lugano, the Brabantse Pijl, the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and the Amstel Gold Race, as well as a podium finish at the Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop, thus further building his reputation as a hugely-talented all-rounder.

In 2010 he took the German national championship road race title by a 50-second margin and marked his eighth Grand tour appearance with two further top 10 finishes in the opening week of the Tour de France.

With Team Milram unable to secure a title sponsor for 2011, Knees was initially snapped up by the new Team Pegasus Racing project, but became available to Team Sky after they failed to secure a UCI Professional Continental licence.