Team Jumbo-Visma extends with quartet riders, routineers continue for half a season
Pascal Eenkhoorn, Timo Roosen, Lennard Hofstede and Christoph Pfingsten will also ride in the Team Jumbo-Visma jersey next season. The four riders have extended their contract with the Dutch World Tour formation. Moreover, Paul Martens and Maarten Wynants will extend their long careers by half a season and will retire as professional cyclists in the course of 2021.
Eenkhoorn, riding his third season as a cyclist for Team Jumbo-Visma, has so far won two races in the yellow and black jersey. In the coming years he hopes to take further steps in his development. “Within this team I can develop step by step. I have a nice race program. The goal is and remains to win races, both individually and with the team. I am very happy that I will also be riding with this Dutch, attractive and close-knit team for the next two years.”
Just like Eenkhoorn, Roosen has also extended his contract by two years. The 27-year-old Roosen has been with the team since 2015 and is enjoying himself there. “The fact that I will also be riding for Team Jumbo-Visma in the coming years, feels great. Both parties are pleased and hopefully we can continue the upward trend of recent years in the coming period.”
Hofstede, who has been part of Team Jumbo-Visma since 2019, is very happy with his contract extension. “This team feels like a close-knit family and the values of the team are very much in line with my personality. I want to continue to develop myself in the upcoming years. I hope to take a step in riding uphill, among other things. That is why I am in the right place with this team. Thanks to Team Jumbo-Visma I can get the best out of myself.” Hofstede has also extended his contract for two years.
Christoph Pfingsten will also stay longer with manager Richard Plugge’s team. The German joined Team Jumbo-Visma this year and he has extended his contract for one year. “From the start I was well integrated into this group. I don’t just get along with the riders, but also with the staff members. That is very important to me. I have a very good feeling with this team”, the German says.
Experienced riders are preparing for final races
In the first half of 2021, Paul Martens and Maarten Wynants can be seen as cyclists in the Team Jumbo-Visma jersey for the last time. The two veterans of Team Jumbo-Visma will quit as pro cyclists during the season.
Paul Martens intended to end his career this season, but the loss of a large part of the cycling calendar made him decide to extend his career. “It was a conscious choice to consider this year my last. However, the corona crisis made me doubt. I reconsidered my decision to quit so that I can end my career in a dignified way. I am very happy that the team gave me the opportunity to continue for half a season. I look forward to, hopefully, being able to ride the most beautiful races such as the Ardennes Classics and the Giro two more times. In this way I can end my career in a beautiful way”, the 36-year-old German said, who has been with Team Jumbo-Visma and its predecessors since 2008.
Maarten Wynants will pin on a bib number for the last time in Paris-Roubaix in 2021. After that, the experienced rider will play a role as sports director at Team Jumbo-Visma. “Paris-Roubaix will be my last race. In principle, this was already possible in October this year, thanks to the new calendar, but I want to say goodbye after a normal, full spring season. After Paris-Roubaix I get into the car as sports director. The intention is that I learn the trade with the Development Team and then continue to grow. I will also do some smaller professional races, but the Tour de France is not there immediately. At the moment I try to convey my many years of experience through my role as a road captain. Even when I have stopped as an active cyclist, I want to pass on that experience to riders.”
These extended contracts complete the selection of Team Jumbo-Visma for the upcoming season. It was previously announced that Tom Leezer will end his cycling career after this season. Taco van der Hoorn, Bert-Jan Lindeman, Amund Jansen and Laurens De Plus will also no longer be part of Team Jumbo-Visma next year.