Robert Gesink will stay with LottoNL-Jumbo for another two-years after he agreed a contract extension as the 29-year-old looks to once again target the Tour de France after an impressive showing last season.
Gesink finished sixth at last year’s Tour, and he hopes that with a new contract and a team being moulded around him he can aim for higher when the Tour starts in July.
He has steadily improved over the years, and despite the team having undergone several brand changes; the Dutch rider has been an ever-present, and the deal is reward for that.
Gesink says LottoNL is like ‘my’ team as he looks forward to the Grand Tours
The new deal came at the right time for Gesink, as he can now forget about his immediate future and focus on racing.
And speaking of the new deal, he said: "The team made a good plan for the future, both on the sportive and business side.”
There is no doubt he is the main man for the Tours, for LottoNL; he showed last summer that he can climb with the very best, and with a sixth place finish at the Tour he is not a million miles away from pushing for a podium spot this summer.
“It feels like my team, the one which has supported me well for years already,” said the 29-year-old.
The challenge for Gesink this summer is to ‘stay’ with the ‘best in the world’ as he looks to improve his overall position at the Tour.
His team director Nico Verhoeven said: “With Robert, we have a strong overall rider and a real captain in our team."
Verhoeven also added that Gesink is the ‘key’ factor in the team and also a ‘figurehead’ for Dutch cycling.
It sounds like Gesink has a little bit of pressure thrust upon him by his director, but he doesn’t seem to be the type of rider that would be swayed by those comments; all he is worried about is the Ardennes Classics that are underway and then the Tour later this year.