Daryl Impey and Orica-GreenEdge secured their future this last week in the Tour de France. The South African signed this week before becoming the first from his continent to wear the yellow jersey yesterday.
Orica-GreenEdge directeur sportif Matt White and owner Gerry Ryan, and even Impey himself said Thursday morning that they had reached a deal, possibly through 2016.
General Manager Shayne Bannan, perhaps preferring to wait to announce the news, said that he still needs to finalise some details.
"He's in the process of re-signing," Bannan told Cycling Weekly. "It's looking good."
Impey, 28, came along way. Only two years ago, he could not find a team after the Pegasus flop and had to race in the third division.
Ryan and GreenEdge put faith in him. It signed him to help Simon Gerrans in the Ardennes Classics, but slowly discovered he was good in many other fields, including lead-outs.
"I wanted to be a good team player and help, and along the way I discovered I had qualities I never thought I had. This team has brought it out," Impey explained.
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"[The Pegasus flop] impacted my career; it was the worst decision I ever made. Now, looking back at it, it made me a lot hungrier and made me appreciate the opportunities that I had. I fought really hard to get back. It was a really hard year. I had the opportunity to GreenEdge, and haven't looked back since."
Ryan is also planning for the future. In May, he committed his sponsorship money through 2016.
Orica's commitment runs through 2014. After this Tour, the chemical and mining company or others will be willing to help finance Ryan's project.
"We've got an article in the New York Times. There's something like 7000 headline stories with Orica-GreenEdge," Ryan said.
"The team should not worry, that's my role, planning and financial budging. They have the next 3.5 years where all they need to focus on is developing the team and we will look after the financial and sponsorship organisation."
Related links
Daryl Impey rides into Tour de France history books
Tour de France 2013: Cycling Weekly's coverage index
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