Esteban Chaves renews contract with Mitchelton-Scott until 2021

Esteban Chaves has renewed his contract with Mitchelton-Scott to keep him with the Australian squad until 2021.

The extension will result in the Colombian spending seven years with his only WorldTour team to date, having signed from his first professional team Colombia-Coldeportes in 2014.

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The 29-year-old won the summit finish stage 19 in the Dolomites during this year's Giro d'Italia, a year after his win on Mount Etna in the Italian Grand Tour.

However, in between Chaves suffered from the Epstein-Barr virus and didn't race for the rest of the 2018 season following the Giro, making his comeback victory in 2019 an emotional one.

The Colombian will line up for Italy's Il Lombardia this weekend, having won the Italian Monument in 2016, and says he will look back fondly on his 2019 as he looks to get back to his best in 2020.

"I’m really happy, I’ve always felt good with this organisation, with this team, with the boys, with everyone, we’re like a big family," Chaves said. "So I’m happy to be staying here for another two-years.

"I’m happy with my 2019 season, every month and every race we were one step up, so that is super important. The team from the beginning have looked after me really well and have given me confidence. The experience this year was awesome and we’re working step-by-step to get back to my best level.

"I want to continue to make a story with the team like we have done in the past, I also want to help the new guys and continue to learn from the older guys. I want to continue my contribution to this organisation."

Mitchelton-Scott sports director, Matt White, is confident he will be able to get performances out of the Colombian over the next two seasons, saying that at his peak Chaves can win any race you put in front of him.

"There's a lot of positives to take out of this season for Esteban," White said. "His health has been really good this year and we know that when he can get back to the level he is capable of competing at, he can win at any race on the calendar.

"Esteban is really motivated to achieve a lot more goals in different areas as well, and we could see some surprises in his calendar for next year."

Mitchelton-Scott's roster will remain largely unchanged for 2020, with the only significant departure being Matteo Trentin, who will leave for CCC, having recently finished runner-up to Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) in the men's road race at the Yorkshire World Championships.