The young Belgian rider says he is delighted to further commit himself to the team he feels has helped him lay the foundation for a burgeoning career as an eventual Classics rider.
“Once I got the offer to stay, it was an easy choice,” said Keukeleire. “I have been really happy these past two years.
“For me, the most important thing is to be able to grow and to ride the type of program I want, and the team has always given me those opportunities.”
Although he doesn’t expect to develop into a the type of rider that can chase overall victories at multi-day tours, he recognises the importance of including a Grand Tour in his program each season to support his single-day race goals.
“This year I had a really nice program in the Classics and the Giro,” noted Keukeleire. “Strangely, my best memory from this year is the Giro, at least the first half anyway.
“The team we had there made it really fun to race – until the second half when the weather became so bad. I felt that I moved up a step when I look back to last year.”
“Jens has certainly developed in the last two years,” added sport director Matt White.
“He’s only four years in as a professional, and he can already handle a very big workload as we saw with racing the Classics and then going straight to the Giro.”
In the next two years, Keukeleire sees himself continuing to race both one day races and tours, with a goal of continued improvement in the Classics.
He finished in seventh place at Dwars door Vlaanderen and supported Sebastian Langeveld to top ten finishes at Paris-Roubaix, Ronde van Vlaanderen and E3 Harelbeke.
“I love the one day races the most,” Keukeleire said. “Having many nice races in the beginning of the season so close to where I live makes them an obvious target.”
“We see a future for Jens as he grows into a leader for the one day races, especially those in Belgium,” added White. “He has a big potential for this style of racing.”
Keukeleire credits the GreenEDGE team with affording him a path to progress.
“I'm really happy that the team first of all gave me this opportunity two years ago,” said Keukeleire. “It has been a really good thing for me, and I’ve been so happy with it.
“After these two years, it feels good to know the team is happy with what I've done and have decided to offer me another two year contract.
“I'm thankful for the team and everybody who allows me to be part of it.”