Orica Greenedge will offer Adam and Simon Yates a contract extension for one more extra year with the team. The pair of British neo-pros signed 2 year deals that see their contracts end in 2015 but the Australian team wants them to pen new deal until the end of 2016.
“We’re still in negotiations but we’re definitely looking to extend their contracts,” Matt White told Cyclingnews.
The extra year would allow the youngsters to focus solely on racing next season rather than spend a year worrying about where they will be riding in 2016.
“The results they’ve both been getting are a lot better than what we expect from neo-pros and we know that other teams are definitely interested so when neo-pros come out and surpass expectations in their first years, like Adam and Simon have, then we feel it’s right to reward them.”
Simon’s results include 12 on GC in the Basque Country, third in his national road race, and seventh in the Tour of Slovenia, while he also rode his debut Grand Tour, the Tour de France this season.
Adam won a stage and the GC in the Tour of Turkey as well as taking the GP Industria. He was fifth on GC in California, sixth in the Dauphine and fifth in the Giro della Toscana as well as being on track for fifth in San Sebastian before a crash. He is riding his debut Grand Tour at the Vuelta a Espana.
“The guys have chosen a team where they wanted the most opportunities and they’ve chosen us because we can give them chances and because we can offer them great development,” White added.
“They’ve both ridden GC at certain times in the year. Adam has obviously won the Tour of Turkey and had a sensational California and Dauphine, while Simon had a really solid Basque Country before his crash at the Tour of Turkey. They’ve both proven that they got the ability to ride GC, but as for what level in the future, time will tell but they’ve both shown that they’re in the category of world class riders.”
“The choice on the contracts is up to them, ultimately. It always is with the athletes.”
“There are not that many GC guys, legitimate GC guys, going around so if you can sign them at a young age you can develop them at the right speed and integrate them into the team philosophy. It’s harder to do that with a 30-year-old who has been a professional for eight years.”
Meanwhile, 2011 Milan-Sanremo winner Matt Goss will leave the team according to White.
“We have twenty six guys looked in and there are only a couple of guys leaving the team with one of them being Matthew Goss.”
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