Lars van der Haar renovates with Baloise - Trek Lions until 2024

With Toon Aerts' future in Baloise - Trek Lions still unclear, the team has taken action to renovate with it's other leader in the men's squad Lars van der Haar from another two seasons, securing the team's presence at the top level of the Elite rankings.

"I feel good in the team and see no reason to change. I already indicated to my manager at the end of last season that I would like to stay at Baloise - Trek Lions. The team also expressed that they wanted to keep me. So the discussions were quickly concluded. We both wanted to continue together, so there was soon time to talk," van der Haar explained, in what he described as an obvious decision from both sides.

Van der Haar has had a brilliant season where he was at a level that appeared similar to the early years of his career. "With my European and Dutch title, silver medal at the World Championships and victories in Tabor and Gavere, I have had one of my best years in the elite category. I take satisfaction in delivering these performances against yet another generation. I will try to maintain this level in the coming seasons and always set new goals," he added.

Van der Haar wrapped off his season a week early so as to perform a necessary knee surgery, after he's had issues that prevented him from training fully: "My knee surgery a month ago went well. On Tuesday I went for a check-up and they prescribed me an extra week of rest. Yesterday, for example, I trained my left leg in the gym - to update the difference in muscle mass - and today that resulted in a "Slight reaction. Hopefully the training backlog will be limited to a week.