De Gendt extends contract with Vacansoleil-DCM

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The Dutch ProTour squad Vacansoleil-DCM announced today it has extended the contract of Thomas De Gendt through the end of the 2013 season. The 24-year-old Belgian, in his first year with the team, already had a contract through the end of the 2012 season but has extended his stint with the team for an additional year.

The 2011 season has been a breakout year for the Belgian in his first year at the ProTour level where De Gendt won a stage in both Paris-Nice and the Tour of Switzerland. In other events, De Gendt also claimed one stage win plus second overall in France's Circuit de Lorraine.

De Gendt showed promise in the final week of the Tour de France, the Belgian's first Grand Tour, with a 6th place finish on the stage finishing on Alpe d'Huez followed by a 4th place finish in the penultimate stage time trial.

"When De Gendt signed with us we knew he had a big potential," said team manager Daan Luijkx. "However, the things De Gendt showed so far was beyond expectation. He is young and test results and the last stages in the Tour show he doesn't know his limits yet.

"Following Hoogerland, Poels, Ruijgh, Westra, Feillu and Marcato this is again a rider of the team core which extends his contract until the end of 2013. We want to build our team on this group in the coming years."

"I am happy with the confidence the team shows and look forward to grow within this team," said De Gendt.