Cyclocross veteran is being courted by other teams
Bart Wellens has been offered an extra three years with the Telenet-Fidea team, the team that he has ridden for his entire professional career, but has not yet put pen to paper, according to Het Laatste Nieuws. The two-time World champion, whose current contract expires at the end of this cyclocross season, has reportedly been the subject of interest of a number of teams, particularly the new KDL team of recently retired former teammate Jan Verstraeten.
“Now money also plays a role,” said Wellens. “[Telenet-Fidea manager] Hans Van Kasteren made me an acceptable offer, and the money is also very good.
“I have always been totally honest with Hans,” he added. “I asked him for time to think before I reply. The KDL team I still working on a concrete proposal; then I will make the decision.”
Wellens turned professional in 2000 with the Spaar-Select team, which became Fidea in 2005 and has been called Telenet-Fidea since 2009. In that period he has won his two elite World championships and two Belgian championships. He also won the overall World Cup in 2002/03, and the GvA Trofee and Superprestige titles in 2003/04.
The 32-year-old Bartman’s career has been characterised by his decade-long rivalry with Sven Nys. While the slightly older Kannibaal has more often than not come out on top, Wellens has two senior rainbow jerseys to Nys’ one.
Although Wellens has been an ever present member of the various incarnations of the Telenet-Fidea team, he has been eclipsed in recent years by the rise of Czech World champion Zdenek Stybar. While Styby was dominating much of the 2009/10 season, Wellens was recovering from the after-effects of Cytomegalovirus and only managed one victory all year.