Jan Bakelants will ride for Ag2r-La Mondiale for the next two seasons, the team has confirmed. The Belgian, who is leaving Omega Pharma-QuickStep, expects to have more freedom to ride for himself and to concentrate on the Classics.
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“I am really happy to confirm that the next 2 seasons I will be part of @AG2RLAMONDIALE “ Bakelants wrote via Twitter. “I also want to thank @opqscyclingteam for Confidence and the great spirit in which the allowed me to perform my passion in the past season.”
Bakelants, 28, turned professional with Topsport Vlaanderen in 2009. He rode for Omega Pharma-Lotto in 2010 and 2011, and RadioShack-Nissan in 2012-2013, before signing for QuickStep this season. This year he won the sixth stage at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
2014 “was not a disappointment, I am really happy that I was riding,’” Bakelants told Sporza.be. “I'm very grateful to Patrick Lefevere. He helped me last year when I had problems finding a team. I definitely will not forget that.”
“I will get a little more freedom than at OPQS. Whether I become a leader? That's an exaggeration,” he said. "But in the classics, I will now have a little more freedom. I have confidence that I can do beautiful things the next two years.”