Future goals include winning a stage in the Vuelta a España, thus completing hat trick of Grand Tour successes
Part of the team since its 2012 debut, the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia stage winner Pieter Weening has agreed terms to stay with the Orica GreenEdge squad for an additional two seasons.
The Dutch climber has inked a deal to extend his current contract until the end of 2015, saying that he believes he has opportunities there that he wouldn’t get with many other teams.
“I have a lot of freedom to do my own thing and to do the races I like,” he said Weening. “I have been really good where I wanted to be good this season so far. Doing my own thing helps me feel valued in this team.”
Orica GreenEdge currently has a focus on sprint finishes and doesn’t have the same fleet of GC riders and helpers as other squads. Because his talents don’t overlap with too many others, it means that he has the freedom to race hard in his preferred events.
One of those was the Tour de Pologne, which he won this year with a consistent string of performances on stages. He was also second overall in the Tour de Langkawi, eighth in both the Eneco Tour and the Amstel Gold Race, and took two top ten stage finishes in the Giro d’Italia.
For Weening, the atmosphere on the team is as important as the opportunities. “This is a really good team for me,” he explained. “Honestly, I just really like it here. The team spirit is the most important thing for me. It’s a team full of fighters. We don’t have a lot of riders on paper who can win big races, but we’re always there.
“In the team’s first year, people didn’t think we’d get results because we didn’t have a lot of big names, but we did. That’s because of the team spirit.”
Weening was with the Rabobank team for twelve years before moving to the Australian squad, and clearly likes to build and maintain a relationship rather than chopping and changing, as some other riders do.
Directeur sportif Matt White described the contract extension as “great news” for the team. “He’s been consistent this whole year with good form from the first race until now,” he said of Weening. “He’s earned a place in the top twenty in the World Tour rankings as a result of his strong results throughout the entire season.”
He also believes that more is yet to come. “I don’t think we have seen the best yet of him yet,” he continued. “Pete has found a good home in OGE and we’re happy to continue that relationship to see how good he can become.”
Weening believes one week races are perfect for him, but also wants to do well in the three week races. One of those targets is to complete a rare hat-trick.
“I want to try to win another stage at a Grand Tour. I already have one at the Tour and the Giro, so hopefully in the next two years I can get one at the Vuelta,” he said. “To have stage wins at all three Grand Tours would be my dream.”