Nat Bromhead
Star Orica-Bike-Exchange rider Esteban Chaves has extended his contract with the team a further three years, the 26-year-old now signed with the Aussie outfit until the end of the 2019 season.
Having enjoyed his and the team’s best season to date, Chaves finished 2016 on the podium of two Grand Tours, the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana, along with winning several other big-name events including the legendary Il Lombardia last weekend.
Thrilled with the announcement, Chaves said he had thoroughly enjoyed his first 3-years with OBE and was looking forward to the next chapter.
“Every year we set some objectives and every year we meet these objectives and do a little bit more,” he said.
“It has been a special three years with this team and if we continue on this line, good things will come. We have a really young team, there are a lot of strong guys under 30, so if we keep growing together over the next few years we will be really strong in all of the races.”
Often dubbed an ‘honorary Aussie’ and ‘Colombian Kangaroo’, Chaves said he felt like part of of the OBE family.
“I never think to stay here for a couple of years and then look somewhere else because I am 100% happy here,” he said.
“I want to stay here with the people who gave me the opportunity when no one else gave me the opportunity or believed in me.”
“This team continues to work, this team continues to believe and the chemistry of this team is real and from the heart. It is special for me to be part of this organisation, this team and this family.”
