Jan Maas signs pro contract with Team BikeExchange
The news we were all hoping for is finally there. Jan Maas celebrates his amazing consistent season with a professional contract. The Dutchman joins Team BikeExchange.
Fourth at the Istrian Spring Trophy, third at the Tour de la Mirabelle, fifth at the Oberösterreich Rundfahrt, eighth at the Dutch National Championships, eleventh at the Tour Alsace, tenth at the Sazka Tour, twentieth at the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg. It are just a few highlights of a 2021 season in which Maas showed to be not only a prolific climber, but also a well-rounded rider who likes to battle for victory on all kinds of terrain. After already tasting from the WorldTour live back in 2018 as a stagiaire for Team LottoNL-Jumbo, the now 25-year-old makes the well-deserved move to another established outfit in world cycling. At Team BikeExchange Maas becomes a teammate of amongst others Michael Matthews, Simon Yates and former Team LottoNL-Jumbo colleague Amund Grøndahl Jansen. After Filip Maciejuk (Team Bahrain Victorious) and Miguel Heidemann (B&B Hotels), Jan Maas is the third Leopard rider to turn pro this year.
Photographer
Cassandra Donne
Jan Maas
"After being a stagiaire at Team LottoNL-Jumbo, which unfortunately did not result in a pro contract, Leopard Pro Cycling and team manager Markus Zingen gave me a second chance to prove that I had what it takes. I was and am very grateful for this opportunity and the fact that after three beautiful years with the team, I finally succeeded in signing a pro contract at the highest level is something very special. It also shows that you should never give up and if you believe in something or dream of something, you should go for it. I can't wait to start the new season in my new team!"
Markus Zingen, Team Manager
"Normally you wouldn’t be happy if one of your better riders leaves the team. With Jan this is another story, because we are extremely happy. During his time at our team, he was always fighting hard to reach his goal to become a WorldTour rider. We saw him improve year by year and also in difficult moments he never lost his faith, motivation and spirit. Especially after this season with many nice performances he really deserved that next step. We have not many times came across such a professional, loyal and friendly guy as him. Therefore we wish Jan all the best at Team BikeExchange and we are very proud to guide once again a rider into the pro ranks.”
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