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What is a contract extension in cycling?
A contract extension is a new agreement that keeps a rider with their current team beyond the end date of the existing contract.
Extensions are the most common contract news in cycling. Teams extend riders they want to keep before rivals can approach them, and riders extend to secure their future, often after an injury, a team change of leadership, or a strong season.
An extension usually changes three things: the end year, the salary and sometimes the role. A rider who has moved from domestique to team leader will typically negotiate a large raise when extending. Long extensions, of four or more years, have become more common for the very best young riders, because teams want to lock in talent before the open market drives up the price.
The timing tells a story. An early extension, more than a year before the contract ends, usually means the team saw a risk of losing the rider. A late extension, signed in the transfer window, often means the market offered little better.
On howtoturnpro.com every rider page shows the contract end year where it is known, and our contracts page lists who is out of contract next season.