Ricardo Van Der Velde of Garmin Transitions and Kurt Hovelynck of Quick Step are the most prominent new signings for the Donckers Koffie - Jelly Belly Cycling Team. The Donckers team emerges from the Belgian Continental Qin team and will be aiming for a Professional Continental license in the future, writes sportdome.nl. Other riders to join the team include Huub Duyn, Jasper Ockeloen, Steve Schets and Hendrik van den Bossche.
Hovelynck joined Quick Step in 2009, but a bad training crash put him out of contention in March of that year. With severe head injuries, his return to cycling was in doubt, but a determined Hovelynck stood at the start line again on February 7, 2010, at the Trofeo Mallorca. He finished in 43rd place - a miracle after what he had been through for the previous 11 months.
Van de Velde had a bad season in 2010, not finishing a lot of the races he was registered for. He is a talented young rider and will try to restart his career with the Donckers Koffie Team.
Duyn had been with Garmin/Slipstream from 2007 to 2009 and raced for NetApp this year. He was part of the Garmin team that won the team time trial at the Tour of Qatar in 2009. He also took a stage in the 2008 Tour de l'Avenir.
Jasper Ockeloen moves over from the Rabobank Continental team, Steve Schets from Topsport Vlaanderen and Van den Bossche from Veranda's Willems. The team has already three Dutch riders under contract who raced with them the past season: Alain van der Velde, Eric van der Meent and Frank van Kuik.