Omega Pharma-Quick Step has announced the signing of Belgian rider Pieter Serry on a two-year contract. The 23-year-old from East Flanders currently rides for Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, where he has spent the last two seasons, and will step up to WorldTour level after some strong performances this year.
“For a Belgian guy like me it’s an honour to ride for a team like Omega Pharma-Quick Step,” he said. “It’s a dream come true. Next year will be my third year as a professional; I hope it can be an important step in my career.
“I really would like to compete in some of the big races and help out the team as much as possible,” he continued. “I have a lot to learn at this level, but on this team I’m sure I will find the right environment to grow up professionally. I want to thank my current team Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator for all the support they gave me in these two years of professional cycling, and I wish them all the best for the future.”
Although Serry has not yet taken a victory in the professional ranks, he has impressed this season with a number of strong performances. He made the podium in April’s Brabantse Pijl - where he was only just outsprinted by Katusha’s three-time World champion Oscar Freire in the race for second, behind Europcar’s solo race winner Thomas Voeckler - but, arguably even more impressively, he made the top 30 in Liège-Bastogne-Liège later in the month.
“Serry is a rider who has qualities,” said Omega Pharma-Quick Step team manager Patrick Lefevere. “He already showed his skills during this season, but we think he can improve even more in the future. We are happy that another young and talented rider has joined our team.”
The signing of Serry comes just a day after Omega Pharma-Quick Step announced that a number of its existing riders had committed to extensions to their current contracts. Gert Steegmans, Julien Vermote, Niki Terpstra, and Nikolas Maes all had contracts that expired at the end of this years, but all renewed their contracts for the next two years, while Matteo Trentin, Stijn Vandenbergh and Andy Fenn were already contracted to the team in 2013, have also extended theirs until the end of 2014.
"We are very happy to announce that such a talented group will return to the team for several more years," said Lefevere yesterday. "All of these riders have played crucial roles in our 43 road wins this year, and we want to build on the success of 2012 by keeping such a strong team intact.
“They have worked well together all season,” he added, “and we want to see all of them further their development, while wearing our team colours.”