Christophe Laporte has turned down lucrative offers from rival teams to stay with Jumbo-Visma, signing a long-term contract extension after a strong Spring Classics campaign.
The news was first reported by Dutch website Wielerflits and confirmed to Cyclingnews by separate sources on Friday.
Laporte has put pen to paper on a new and improved three-year deal that will take him through to the end of 2026, the same duration as Wout van Aert's contract with the Dutch team. Jumbo has still confirm their title sponsorship of the team beyond 2024 but manager Richard Plugge is continuing to build the team's roster for the long-term.
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Laporte, 30, joined Jumbo-Visma in 2022 after eight years at Cofidis and immediately stepped up a level, winning stages at Paris-Nice and the Tour de France and finishing runner-up at E3 Saxo Classic and the World Championship.
This year he has made another step up, dominating Gent-Wevelgem alongside Van Aert and being 'gifted' the victory before winning Dwars door Vlaanderen a few days later.
He placed 14th at the Tour of Flanders working for Van Aert before a puncture ruined a promising Paris-Roubaix, but interest in the Frenchman's services for 2024 was already swirling.
Cyclingnews understands that numerous teams made approaches and that multiple offers were on the table, with particularly lucrative options arriving from more than one French team.
Suggestions that Laporte has turned down 'mega offers' are perhaps exaggerated, with Jumbo-Visma fighting to keep him and upping his salary in line with his value, but it is nevertheless apparent he could have earned more elsewhere.
Laporte is said to be happy both with the way Jumbo-Visma have unlocked his potential and with the current role he has as a shadow leader behind Van Aert, in amongst other big names like Dylan van Baarle and Tiesj Benoot.
Sole leadership of a French team would have come with a type of pressure the quietly spoken 30-year-old wouldn't have felt as comfortable with, even with the extra money.
AG2R Citroën were among the teams to approach Laporte, with a significant potential hole in their budget and Classics line-up. Greg Van Avermaet is contemplating retirement and both Oliver Naesen and Benoît Cosnefroy are out of contract at the end of this year.
TotalEnergies, meanwhile, have money to play with as the retiring Peter Sagan is taken off the wage bill.
Jumbo-Visma refused to confirm Laporte's extension when contacted by Cyclingnews but the announcement of Laporte' new deal is expected later in the season.
Laporte is expected to race the Tour de France again this summer alongside Van Aert and team leader Jonas Vingegaard.
