Jenthe Biermans has signed a two-year contract extension with Israel Start-Up Nation, the team announced on Thursday, which will keep the 24-year-old Belgian at the WorldTour squad until at least the end of 2022.
"This contract extension means a lot to me," Biermans said on the team's website. "It shows that the team has a lot of confidence in me. In this difficult year, getting a contract renewed this fast shows that they believe in me a lot."
Biermans joined the team this year from the now defunct Katusha-Alpecin squad – from which Israel Start-Up Nation took over the WorldTour licence – and the young rider has clearly quickly been made to feel at home.
"This team is more than a team," he said. "It is a group of friends that makes difficult decisions and stands behind those decisions together. The team doesn't only think about racing, but also listens to the thoughts of the riders."
The young support rider started his 2020 season at the Challenge Mallorca in January, and went on to ride the Volta ao Algarve, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, Le Samyn and Paris-Nice, which has given him a more complete season so far than most in a competition year affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Biermans will now target the rescheduled one-day races, and the 'spring' Classics – in October – in particular.
"It's my dream to win a pro race, and I hope to make my dream come true, together with my ISN teammates and staff," he said. "I want to develop myself more in the Classics to be an important rider in ISN's Classics team, so that we can get some good results and win a lot of races.
"The weather can still be good but also very bad in October in Belgium," Biermans continued, "so these new circumstances could be very interesting as nobody knows what the best race plan is when it comes to the Classics."
Team manager Kjell Carlström added: "He was there in the 'opening weekend' [Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne] in Belgium, as well as at Paris-Nice, with a great attitude, and really supported the team's goals.
"With him continuing to develop in the right way, we also see him as a future Classics rider who, on a good day, can get excellent results for himself or support the team," said Carlström.
