Dutchman wants to take up team manager on offer to spend more years with Belgian team
Vacansoleil's team manager Daan Luijkx would like to extend the contracts of Johnny Hoogerland and Lieuwe Westra. Hoogerland is ready to do so, as he feels quite well in the team. He is ready to spend two more years with Vacansoleil.
He feels no pressure and is honored that the team wants to keep him. "Shortly after the Etoile de Bessèges I talked to Luijkx and I think we can come to an agreement," he told pzc.nl. "I am one of the figureheads of the team and I think they want to reward that. In principle I want to stay, since I feel well in the team."
There seemed to have been some tension, with rumors that both Westra and Hoogerland will not ride the Tour de France if they wouldn't sign the contracts before the Tour. Luijkx made it clear he wants to have the negotiations done and over with by July. "The Tour is the cycling podium of the world and we also have to look out for the future," Luijkx said to NUSport. "I think in the Tour team you have to put the riders who are under contract until 2013."
Hoogerland is ready to sign, under the condition that his contract has slightly better conditions than now. "I am not someone who wants to get every cent out of it. But if I ride well this season, that needs to be rewarded." He appears to want a bonus system in place for 2012.
Hoogerland turned pro with Vacansoleil in 2009 and immediately made an impact. He won the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen in March, finished 12th in the Ronde van Vlaanderen and was also 12th in the overall of the Vuelta a España. He ended that season with a fifth place in the Giro di Lombardia.
In 2010, he opened up with a third place overall in the Tour Méditerranéen, an 11th in the Ronde van Vlaanderen and the mountains classification win in the Tour of Poland. He was also fifth overall in the Tour of Britain.
His 2011 campaign started successfully as well, with a third place overall in the Etoile de Bessèges.
Both Hoogerland and Westra are selected to ride Paris-Nice (March 6-13), alongside Matteo Carrara, Thomas DeGendt, Stijn Devolder, Romain Feillu, Sergey Lagutin, and Björn Leukemans.