Jens Keukeleire has already brought four wins to his French Cofidis team this season. The Belgian is only 21 years old and will surely be wooed by other teams soon. Cofidis is trying to prevent this by being proactive and re-negotiating a better contract for the youngster from Brugge.
Keukeleire’s contract runs until 2011, but Cofidis wants to give him a contract until 2012, with better (financial) conditions, according to Belgian paper Het Nieuwsblad.
Keukeleire first made headlines in early March, when he won two races in three days – the GP Samyn and the opening stage of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen. Thanks to a couple more podium spots in West Flanders, he also took the overall win in the end.
He went on to win the Nokere Koerse, another prestigious Belgian classic. He was 18th in his last race in mid-April, the GP de Denain Porte du Hainaut. He did not finish Paris-Roubaix or the Driedaagse De Panne, but that was to be expected from such a young rider.
The team has now decided to give Keukeleire a well-deserved break and instead of racing the Four Days of Dunkerque, he is training in Benidorm, Spain.
His next race will be the Tour de Picardië, which runs in France from May 14 to 16.