Squeeze at Garmin sees Dutchman search for greener pastures
Hans Dekkers (left) with his Garmin teammates at the Tour of Qatar in February. The Dutchman will ride for Landbouwkrediet-Colnago in 2010 (Image credit: Gregor Brown)
Garmin-Slipstream's Hans Dekkers has announced that he will leave the American squad at the end of 2009 after signing a two-year contract with Pro Continental Landbouwkrediet-Colnago.
Het Laaste Nieuws reported that the Dutch sprinter had decided to leave Garmin after one season, as the ProTour team began its recruitment drive for the 2010 season.
"With the arrival of Robert Hunter to Garmin it was also clear that next season I would not get many opportunities [to ride for myself]," he said.
Somewhat of a journeyman, Landbouwkrediet-Colnago will be Dekkers' fifth professional team. He began his career with the Rabobank development team in 2001, working his way up to the senior squad, before spending two years with French squad Agritubel (2006, 2007).
The 28-year-old joined Garmin at the start of this year, after a similar tenure at Mitsubishi-Jartazi in 2008.
Dekkers, whose last victory came ahead of Tom Boonen at the Nationale Sluitingprijs - Putte-Kapellen in 2008, said he looked forward to a fresh start with his new squad.
"It was a dream to race this year with a team like Garmin, but I did not really fit in their current program," said Dekkers. "The program I will have at Landbouwkrediet-Colnago will suit me."
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