Team Giant-Alpecin is pleased to announce that Dutch riders Roy Curvers and Laurens ten Dam have extended their contracts with the team.
Experienced road captain and core member of the team since the beginning of its existence, Curvers, has signed a new agreement that commits him for a further year. "I’m very happy to have been with the team for a decade and I’m satisfied with my contract extension," said Curvers. "The team has always shown confidence in me and still does, which is confirmed with this new contract. We are in a phase of development within the team in terms of both top riders and talents coming through over the next few years, and I am looking forward to contributing to their development and creating some great results with them."
Coach Rudi Kemna (NED) elaborated on the extension: "For us it wasn’t a difficult choice to continue to work with Roy and we’re delighted to have him onboard for another season. He’s a great person and a superb athlete, who breathes our philosophy. Since the beginning he has been one of our core members, and his experience and route knowledge is critical in both the classics and Grand Tours. For the upcoming season he will continue to be one of our main road captains who will guide the young guys in the team."
Ten Dam, 35 years old, made his debut for Team Giant-Alpecin at the beginning of 2016. He had a very good first season with the team, which convinced him that bike racing is still what he loves best. He commented: "During the Tour I realized I wanted to continue racing. I felt the youngsters could still benefit from my legs and my experience. I am really motivated to work with my teammates and staff for another challenging season. The signing of Wilco [Kelderman] has also given me motivation to continue and we have got a stellar GC team next year and I hope to play a big role in it!
"This season Laurens has shown that he can offer a lot of value to the team both on and off the bike," explained Kemna. "He has adapted perfectly to our way of working, which is remarkable, considering he has been in other pro teams for a decade. This year we saw that spending part of the season in the US can be combined successfully with a steady road season in Europe, and that will be the plan for next season, too. He'll continue to be important to support our young GC guys in the stage races and Grand Tours. On top of that, we saw at the Tour of California that he is able to compete for a top ten place in the shorter stage races, which is an achievable objective for the next season, too."
Pictures courtesy of Giant Alpecin