During the next few months, Jelle Vanendert will have to show himself to earn a new contract with Lotto Soudal. The 30 year old Belgian is soon out of contract but don't have many chances to prove his wort in the final part of the year. "I would like to stay, but these are not the best times for riders to end their contracts," he tells in Het Belang van Limburg. On Saturday he hopes to show himself in San Sebastian.

Since 2009, Vanendert been riding under the Lotto flag. "I'm thirty and nowadays that makes you old in the peloton," he sayd. With Tim Wellens and Tony Gallopin, the Belgian ProTeam has younger riders that can shine in Vanendert's terrain.

Vanendert sees a crisis in the peloton, "There are no new teams and with Europcar one team is even disappearing. That's an advantage for the team managers. They can wait for a long time before they sign any riders.

"I realize I have something to show myself but I also won't be obsessed. It won't help me to be worried."

On Saturday there is an immediate opportunity for Vanendert in the Clasica San Sebastian. He finished sixth last year. In 2011, he was ninth.

The Spanish classic is something for Vanendert: "This race is for me. It's a week after the Tour which always makes it diffiuclt. I've just had a period without competition so I have to see how I am compared to the riders from the Tour. Are they exhausted or do them have some super compensation after a week of rest?

"I have tried both. In 2011, I did the Tour and I finished ninth. In 2014 I skipped theTour and I was sixth. So it can go either way."