Danish rider battled through hand injury, rewarded with three-year deal; Kreuziger reported to have signed as well
After battling incessantly through the mountain stages of the Tour de France, breaking away from the main field for portions of many, Chris Anker Sørensen was awarded with the final combativity prize in the Tour de France, earning him a podium appearance on the Champs Élysées on Sunday.
Sørensen’s aggressive nature – and his willingness to hang onto his 14th place overall in spite of a severe hand injury two days from the finish that will require surgery – has also earned him a contract extension with Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, as reported by Sporten.dk.
Sørensen’s results were one of the major highlights for Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank in the 2012 Tour, as they were riding on the back foot without Alberto Contador. Amongst the pool of riders being considered for the most aggressive rider prize were two men from the squad, in Sørensen and early mountains classification leader Michael Mørkøv. Though the Danish squad did not pick up a stage win, team boss Bjarne Riis was pleased with the efforts of his men.
“I’m very satisfied. I’m happy with this year’s Tour de France,” he said according to Sporten.dk. “Although we did not get a stage win, it has been fantastic for us. It’s been a pleasure to watch Chris Anker and Michael Mørkøv. It’s great that Chris Anker received the aggressive award. We had not expected that.”
The Danish website was also reporting more good news for Riis’ squad, which has reportedly inked two new contracts in the final days of the Tour.
Riis confirmed that Sørensen had been resigned by Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank. The Dane’s current contract was up at the end of the season.
“He’s gotten a pay raise and we have made a three-year agreement with him,” Riis told Sporten.dk of Sørensen.
“The Tour has not really changed anything, because we had already agreed before the race,” Sørensen added. “There is nothing really new for me in this. We’ve never really doubted that it would be an extension because we have been in agreement all the way.
“I’m really happy. I’ve had many good years on the team and I am sure that there are many good years ahead. I got a few different offers, so I considered what was best for me. In the end, the best offer was to stay, so it was not hard to choose.”
Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank is also reported to have scored a major signing in Roman Kreuziger, currently of Team Astana. Oleg Tinkov wrote on his Russian Eurosport blog that the team had secured a deal with the Czech rider.