Dylan Groenewegen's important lead-out man Elmar Reinders extends with Jayco-AlUla through 2025

Elmar Reinders signs a new, longer deal with Team Jayco AlUla. The contract of Dylan Groenewegen's lead-out man and friend has been broken and extended by one year. The 31-year-old Dutchman is now bound to the Australian WorldTour team until the end of 2025.

Reinders made the switch from the Continental level in August 2022: he jumped from Danish Riwal to Jayco AlUla. During his year and a half with the team, he proved himself to be a loyal lieutenant of Groenewegen, who was guided forward several times by Reinders. For example, in one of the first races of 2023, the Saudi Tour, this immediately resulted in a victory.

"We knew Elmar could be a great asset to the team. And especially for Dylan," manager Brent Copeland says on the team website. "In the beginning it was a bit unclear how he would make the transition to WorldTour level as an older rider, but Elmar quickly showed his talent and has proven himself time and time again. The WorldTour is where he belongs. He works hard to assist his teammates and as the team's sprint group becomes even stronger next year, we are very pleased that Elmar will continue to play a major role in that area over the next two seasons."

Reinders himself is of course also very happy with his contract extension. "I'm really happy that I can stay with the team for another two years and that they have confidence in me. For myself, I did better than expected this year and I was really happy to have made the selection for the Tour de France. That was the best adventure of the season, because I had never raced for longer than a week. So it was a completely new experience to ride a three-week round. If the first grand tour is the Tour, that is very special. This first full year with the team has left me hungry for more. I am really motivated to give everything for the team, in order to contribute to even more victories."