Pauwels extends contract with Sunweb-Revor

Belgian cyclo-cross star Kevin Pauwels renewed his contract with the Sunweb-Revor team. The two parties extended their relationship for two additional years.

"Kevin Pauwels' term at our team was going to end in 2013. We extended and upgraded his contract until 2015. There was a lot of interest from other teams, but now he gets the deal he deserves after his recent performances. From now on, he's not only part of the big four on the bike but also financially," team manager Jurgen Mettepenningen said on TV-channel VT4 just ahead of the start of the cyclo-cross race in Diegem, Belgium on Friday evening.

"This is a great deal for our team. Now our future is secured. It wasn't easy to set this up, but if it was possible, we had to try and keep him. We're happy and he's happy," Mettepenningen said.

Since Pauwels' move from Telenet-Fidea to Sunweb-Revor last year, the coy Belgian has blossomed into a top cyclo-cross rider and was recently rewarded with a top spot in the UCI cyclo-cross rankings.

"It's great that I could sign the deal. Jurgen came up to ask me if I wanted to extend my contract. I'm good here so there's no reason not to sign that deal," Pauwels said.

Mettepenningen also said that after this cyclo-cross season Pauwels will focus on the mountain bike, attempting to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.