Olivier Kaisen is down and out of Lotto (Image credit: Bjorn Haake)
Olivier Kaisen has not received a new contract from his Silence-Lotto team for the coming season. Manager Marc Sergeant had told Kaisen that if he could have a roster of more than 25 riders, he could stay. Apparently that will not be the case.
Kaisen had held out hope until the end but will have to look for a new team for 2009. He told Belgian newspaper La Dernière Heure about his plans. "I was hoping to see Marc Sergeant at Franco-Belge, but that wasn't possible. Then Herman Frison told me that there wouldn't be a place for me the next season. That is bad news, because now it is late to find a team."
Kaisen isn't the only rider looking for a job, with two teams (Gerolsteiner and Crédit Agricole) ending their sponsorship at the end of 2008.
Gérard Bulens, directeur sportif of Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner, has noticed the strength of Kaisen. "He's a rider who I would like to have, obviously. But for now, I am waiting on the reactions [to contract offers] of my riders, [Bert] Scheirlinckx, [Jan] Kuyckx and [Filip] Meirhaeghe with regards with 2009. Then I can see what budget I have left."
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