Rabobank extends with Reus, De Maar moves on

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Rabobank has extended the contract of one young rider, while letting another go. Kai Reus will stay with the Dutch ProTour team, while Marc De Maar did not receive a new contract and will transfer to the US-based OUCH Pro Cycling.

Reus, 24, won the second stage of the Tour of Britain earlier this month and wore the leader's jersey for three stages. He finished the race fourth overall. Reus first signed with the Rabobank developmental team in 2004. He had his breakthrough year in 2006, when he won the Tour de Normandie, Ronde van Noord-Holland, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège for Espoirs.

He said that he also been in discussion with Garmin-Slipstream, but decided to stay with his Dutch team. "They have stood behind me two years, when things were not good," he said. "I owe so much to them. They have always kept faith in me and I think it would not have been correct on my part if I had left.”

The young Dutch rider moved up to the ProTour team in 2007, but his season was cut short by a training accident. In July of that year he crashed while training in France and was placed in an induced coma for 11 days due to head injuries. Reus rode for the Rabobank Continental team in 2008 and returned to the ProTour squad this year.

De Maar, 25, also came up through the Rabobank developmental team and joined the ProTour team in 2006. He has not ridden since April of this year, due to injuries and illness.

He noted that his signing with American team OUCH may seem “a somewhat surprising decision”, but noted that due to his physical problems: “I had slowly lost my pleasure in cycling. In America I will start over again and have fun being a rider.”

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