French TT champion on Ag2r La Mondiale’s wish-list

Having been in the top ten of the Tour de France for much of the race prior to eventually finishing thirteenth overall, Laurens ten Dam has been in demand in terms of a new contract.



After advances from several teams, the 32 year old Dutch rider has signed a new two year deal with Belkin, according to Telesport.



The Dutch paper states that Astana was particularly keen on signing him, but he will now remain within the same structure that he has been with since 2008.



Ten Dam indicated during the Tour that he was frustrated not to have been given an offer by his team. That seems now to have come through and been accepted, and he will be there until the end of 2015.



Meanwhile Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel is weighing up his own options and trying to decide which team’s colours he will don next year. He has been part of the Omega Pharma Quick Step squad since the start of 2009 but indicates a willingness to move if the conditions are right.



“I have had several offers, including one from AG2R La Mondiale,” he told La Nouvelle République.



“I'm racing for five years now Omega Pharma -. QuickStep The team management would like me to stay, but I want to know what specific role they want to give me,” he said, the statement suggesting that he would like more personal opportunities.



This season Chavanel has done a lot of work for the team’s new top signing, Mark Cavendish. He has helped set Cavendish up for several wins, including victory on stage thirteen of the Tour de France, when they infiltrated a breakaway sparked off by Team Saxo Tinkoff.



The 34 year old has been able to put his strength to his own use in some other events, picking up a stage win and the overall in the Three Days of Den Panne, taking a stage plus the points classification in Paris-Nice and also defending his French time trial championship title.



He also rode well in the spring Classics. He now has to decide if he will remain within his current setup, where he will have to work for Cavendish on occasion, or if he wants a bigger leadership role with another squad.



What’s clear is that he doesn’t plan to weigh things up for too long. “Within two weeks I will make a decision,” he said.