Lotto Soudal and Jens Debusschere have reached a new agreement. Debusschere has signed a contract for three seasons and will stay with the team until the end of 2018. The Belgian rider has been part of the team since 2011 and as developed as a classics rider with fast legs. His Belgian title in 2014 is the highlight of his career until now. On August 28, he will turn 26.

Marc Sergeant, the manager of Lotto Soudalm is very happy with this contract extension.

“Jens has already been part of this team since he was 21. We gave him the time to learn and grow in the shadow of other riders. At the end of 2013 he took the next step and started to win races. At first Europe Tour races, but last year the Belgian title gave him a boost of confidence. In that Belgian jersey he became even better and won a sprint at Tirreno-Adriatico and he took a step forward during the spring, where he was always in the top fifteen.

“He’ll keep combining the classics and sprinting, but he needs to use his fast legs even more. Jens is a rider who fits into the team. But I want to see him make more progression, see him challenge himself, search his limits. In the current cycling world it’s not an option to make no evolution. He’s in the most beautiful years of his career, I’m happy he chose to ride for Lotto Soudal those years.

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After his strong performances of the previous months several teams were interested in Jens Debusschere, but he chose to stay with Lotto Soudal.

“I chose to stay because of the team’s faith in me and the faith I have in the team, and because of the opportunities I get. I know everybody, the way of working, I have a strong bond with Marc Sergeant and the atmosphere is optimal. The past years I had a chance to grow in the shadow of riders like André Greipel and Jürgen Roelandts. In another team you need to start a bit from scratch.

“The most important years of my career are coming up and I hope to add more victories in the next three years. Winning a classic is high on my list, but that won’t be easy. Apart from that I want to use my speed. There aren’t many sprinters like André, but with some less fast legs you can win nice races as well. I hope to finish the Tour with a good condition and show some nice things at the end of the season. There are some nice races in the WorldTour and there are other races in which I can have a go.”