The relationship between Belgian Cyclo-crosser Sven Vanthourenhout and his team, Sunweb-Projob, has taken a turn for the worse. The negotiations concerning his contract extension have stalled, leaving two unhappy parties as they enter the final part of the season.
“My relationship with the team management isn’t great, and that’s putting it lightly. It’s not an ideal situation for my racing and it cannot continue like this any longer. But at the moment I don’t have any offers from other teams,” explained the 28-year-old Belgian to Gazet van Antwerpen.
Earlier this week both parties came together to smooth out their differences and bring the conflict to an end. "That partly succeeded. We have both made proposals to continue. But there was talk about changing my salary. In the new contract my pay will depend on each of my performances. The length of my contract is still being discussed. In the next few days I will study their proposal with my manager," he continued.
Vanthourenhout currently sits eighth overall in the Superprestige standings, 40 points behind Belgian champion Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet). Vanthourenhout won the international cyclocross in Asteasu, Spain beating Nys and teammate Klaas Vantornout in a sprint to the line.