OmegaPharma-Lotto signs two more young Belgians

by Ben Atkins at 4:48 PM EST

ProTour team gives step up to two young local riders

Belgian team OmegaPharma-Lotto has announced the signatures of two new riders for 2011: Bart De Clercq and Maarten Neyens; Neyens has been with Topsport Vlaanderen, while De Clercq is the third neo-pro to be signed by the team after Sven Vandousselaere and Jens Debusschere.

In his three years with Profesional Continental Topsport Vlaanderen, 25-year-old Neyens has achieved a number of results, most notably second places in the 1.2-rakned Beverbeek Classic and the 1.1-ranked Batavus Prorace last year. He joins the team as a domestique for its current team leaders on a one-year contract though, and will work for his childhood friend Jürgen Roelandts, among others.

23-year-old De Clercq is a climber, having ridden for OmegaPharma-Lotto’s Continental feeder team Davo-Lotto-Davitamon for the past two seasons. This year he has taken two top-four places in mountain stages of the Tour des Pays de Savoie, including fourth on the moutaintop finish at La Toussire. As a Belgian he is not afraid of a few cobbles either, taking 12th in this year’s under-23 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

De Clercq joins the team on a two-year contract.

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