The 28th of August has always been an important day for Jens Debusschere. In 2019, on his 29th birthday, this date will once again play an important role as his transfer to KATUSHA ALPECIN is made official.
Jens Debusschere: “I am not just happy; I am extremely happy. I come to a team that has always been interested in the spring classics and putting someone in the finales. I also arrive in a team where I find some other Belgian riders and staff, plus this team uses super good bikes. I look forward to it. After eight years in the same team, it was time to make a new move in my career. I will focus on the classics, but I will still remain a sprinter as well. I have proved I can be a good lead-out man and in the smaller races I can go myself for the win. It all looks nice.”
General Manager José Azevedo added: “The reason we have signed Jens is because he’s a rider who can get a good result in the one-day Belgian classics. He’s a rider who can finish top ten in the classics. Also, while we have a good group of riders for these races, we want to make this group stronger, especially a guy with more experience, like he has. He’s shown in the past years that he can be in the front in the classics. Plus, he’s a fast rider; he can also be one of the sprinters on our team and we can look to him to be in the lead-out for Marcel Kittel as he did for Greipel in the past.”
Debusschere turned professional in 2011 and has steadily built on his palmares throughout his career. Notable wins include his 2014 Belgian national championship victory, a stage win in the 2015 Tirreno-Adriatico, a first overall in the 2013 Tour de l’Eurométropole, first in Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2016, GP Wallonie 2015 as well as a stage 5 victory in this year’s Tour de Wallonie.
Azevedo concluded: “He understood from the beginning what we were looking for and was eager to come to the team. I think we’re what he is looking for too – a team who will give him opportunities and some freedom in the classics, as well as a team who will give him a race program that can be for his sprints. We feel we are a good match for him.”
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KATUSHA MEDIA SERVICE
Philippe Maertens
maertens@teamkatushaalpecin.com
+32 492 22 78 96
Falk Nier
nier@teamkatushaalpecin.com
+32 492 22 78 98