Dutch winner of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne latest to secure new team after Pegasus debacle
Bobbie Traksel has become the latest rider from the proposed 2011 Pegasus line up to find a new team, securing a place at the Belgian Landbouwkrediet team. The 29-year-old Dutchman, who won the 2010 edition of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, weighed up a number of options after the new Australian team failed to achieve ProContinental status last month; the Landbouwkrediet team, best known as the team of Belgian cyclocross champion Sven Nys, was his best option due to its race programme.
“I’m super happy that I joined Landbouwkrediet and can’t wait to start work,” said Traksel on his website. “As I already said, I was already in talks with this team in mid-2010, and the discussions that we had were super nice and we all know what we expect from each other. I’m looking forward to it.”
Having spent the last two seasons at Vacansoleil, Traksel had no wish to take the massive step down to Continental status that staying with Pegasus would mean. For the same reason he also ruled out a move to US-based Fly V-Australia, as well as the fact that he would have missed his girls.
A third option would have been to join the expanding Verandas Willems team; it was the fact that Landbouwkrediet will get to ride a full programme of races though, including most of the major ones in Belgium, as well as the fact that he had been in previous contact, that swung it for the Belgian team.
While Landbouwkrediet is best known for the winter exploits of Nys, it is also ambitious Belgian team on the road. It receives invitations to most of the big races in Belgium, including the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the addition of a proven winner like Traksel could see the team in green pick up some decent results.