Wauters with Rabobank for another year

During the Tour de France, Marc Wauters has reached an agreement with CEO Theo de Rooij of the Rabo Cycling Teams to extend his contract by a year. The two-time Belgian individual time trial champion will continue racing with Rabobank until the end of 2006, his last year in cycling. Earlier, Erik Dekker made the same decision over the continuation of his career with Rabobank.

For 'Iron Man' Marc Wauters, who is riding his 13th Tour de France, 2006 will be his 16th year as a professional rider. His final year will also be his ninth year with Rabobank.

In this year's Tour de France, Wauters is currently the best ranked Rabo rider. During the Tour de France in 2001 Wauters won the stage in Antwerp, Belgium and wore the yellow jersey the next day. In 1999, Wauters won the World Cup classic Paris - Tours, while 'Soldaat' ('Soldier' as he is nicknamed by his teammates) wore the national champion's jersey as the best Belgian time trialist in 2002 and 2003.