Kruijswijk commits to seventeenth season in pro peloton
Steven Kruijswijk has extended his contract with Team Visma | Lease a Bike for another year. The 38-year-old Dutchman plays an important role as a culture bearer within the team, but also proved during the Giro d’Italia won by Simon Yates that he remains a valuable athlete on the road.
Kruijswijk has spent his entire career riding for the Dutch WorldTeam. He progressed through the Rabobank Continental Team and went on to become one of the best Grand Tour riders of his generation. In addition to a stage win in the Tour de Suisse and overall victory in the Arctic Race of Norway, Kruijswijk particularly stood out with a third-place finish in the 2019 Tour de France, a fourth place in the 2018 Vuelta a España, and a fourth place in the 2016 Giro d’Italia, where he also wore the pink jersey for six days.
"This past Giro reaffirmed for me and the team that I’m still a valuable asset. That feeling was decisive for me."
“I still really enjoy it and feel physically great again,” Kruijswijk said about extending his stay with the team and in the peloton. “This past Giro reaffirmed for me and the team that I’m still a valuable asset. That feeling was decisive for me. I also try to share my experience as much as possible with the younger riders on the team. In that way, I hope to continue contributing to the team’s future successes.”
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Head of Racing Grischa Niermann echoed Kruijswijk’s sentiments: “It’s important that we’re able to keep someone who has been with this team for so long. Steven has taken on just about every role here and experienced all kinds of situations. That makes him extremely valuable to the entire team, and especially to our young talents. On top of that, Steven showed again during the last Giro that he’s still more than capable when it comes to performance on the bike.”
