Kroon and Leezer staying put, van Poppels on the move

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Karsten Kroon is staying with Saxo-Tinkoff and Tom Leezer with Team Belkin, while brothers Boy and Danny van Poppel are said to be heading to the newly named Team Trek, according to a round-up of Dutch signing news.

According to De Telegraaf, Kroon has extended his contract with Saxo-Tinkoff for one year.  The 37-year-old decided not to hang up his bike yet, and remain active for a further year. He turned pro in 1997 with Rabobank and rode for CSC (2006-2009) and BMC (2010-2011) before joining Saxo Bank last year. He won a stage at the Tour de France in 2002.

Leezer has reached an oral agreement to stay with Belkin for another two years, the newspaper said.  The 27-year-old joined the Rabobank Continental Team in 2005 and rode for Rabobank, the forerunner of Belkin, since 2008. This season he won a stage at the Tour de Langkawi.

The van Poppel brothers have long been rumoured to join the Trek team for the coming season, as their current team Vacansoleil-DCM is losing both its title sponsors, and a new sponsor appears unlikely. Danny van Poppel, who turned 20 the end of July, is the youngest rider in the WorldTour and was the youngest rider to start the Tour de France since World War II. He rode for the Rabobank Continental Team in 2012 before turning pro this year.

Boy van Poppel also started out with the Rabobank Continental Team and rode for UnitedHealthcare in 2011 and 2012 before joining Vacansoleil this year. Last year he won the points jersey at the Tour of Britain.