Quick Step team news

With the Tour de France close at hand Team Quick Step have been doing a bit of house keeping and have resigned a rider of the present and another for the future.

Steven De Jongh has prolonged his contract with the team. The 34 years old Dutch rider will stay with the team for another year (2009). "We are very satisfied for this agreement - explains the team manager Patrick Lefevere - Steven is an important part of our train for the sprints and he also showed that he is able to win the races when he has the responsibility of the team."

"I had several proposal for others team - explains De Jongh - but I chose Quick Step because my heart is with the team, with Tom and the rest of the guys. Everybody in this team works very hard to reach the objectives."

Maarten Wynants will be racing with team for the next two seasons (2009-2010). The young Belgian talent, who’s been with team since 2006 showed this year his worth as one of the most eclectic riders of the group, able to compete in both the cobbled classics like Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris Roubaix, as well as Liege Bastogne Liege and Amstel Gold Race classics.

“I’m very happy with the opportunity and faith the team has given me,” explained the 26 year old Belgian athlete - “My goal is to further grow and mature, to be worthy of the faith the team has bestowed on me.”

There’s also news on the neo-professional front. The Danish Thomas Kvist will join the team starting August 1st , until the end of 2010.

The 20 year old rider, who at the moment is competing with the Beveren 2000 team, stood out by winning a stage and the final standings of the Gran Prix de Nations in Canada, one of the most important international races for Under 23. Kvist was shining as well on the roads of the Giro delle Regioni in April, before he had to withdraw due to a fractured clavicle.

“He’s a rider we’ve been following for a while and who already integrated with the team last winter, participating in the two team retreats,” explains the team manager Lefevere - “Now he’ll have the time to grow and mature gradually as part of the team.”