Lotto Soudal already had a contract in place with Jasper De Buyst through to the end of 2022 but the team has added another two years, aligning the time frame of the Belgian’s commitment to that of Caleb Ewan's, in recognition of his value as a key rider in the Australian’s sprint train.
De Buyst has been with Lotto-Soudal since 2015, with the extension to the end of 2024 taking him to ten seasons. In that time victories in his own right may have been few but the ones he has played a role in delivering are plentiful.
“Jasper has been part of Lotto Soudal for seven years now and it was a priority to keep him on board,” said general manager at Lotto Soudal, John Lelangue. “As one of the main guys in Caleb’s sprint train, Jasper has contributed to many victories and I am sure there are many more to follow in the coming years.”
“In addition, we have signed some reinforcements for the sprint train with the likes of Jarrad Drizners, Michael Schwarzmann and Rüdiger Selig. We’ve done this to give riders like Jasper De Buyst a bit more freedom and a chance to pursue their own results as well. Jasper has already won some nice races in the past and also in one-day races such as the spring Classics, he is a real asset to the team.”
The 28 year old’s list of victories includes the Binche-Chimay-Binche in 2017, along with the GP Stad Zottegem, the Heistse Pijl and a stage in the Tour de Wallonie that year. He also won a stage of the Tour of Denmark in 2019 and recently returned to the track to race the Ghent Six with Roger Kluge and came second overall.
De Buyst said the contract extension was a sign of mutual trust and a reflection of the "nice collaboration" over the past seasons, where he has ridden in the support of others.
“Of course, I will still give my all at the service of our sprinters the coming years,” said De Buyst. “I’ve put aside my personal ambitions for several years now so it will be something of a test to try and go for some own results. In any case, it would be nice to be able to do a bit of both. Of course, I would like to win a few more races.
