Terpstra: So far I'm satisfied at Direct Energie

Niki Terpstra made something of a leap of faith in leaving QuickStep, the most victorious team in the WorldTour, and joining Direct Energie, but he insisted he is perfectly satisfied with the way things are turning out at the second-division French team.

Terpstra enjoyed his best classics campaign to date in 2018, winning Le Samyn, E3-Harelbeke, and the Tour of Flanders, as well as finishing on the podium at Paris-Roubaix. Consequently, his market value shot up and Direct Energie, with money to invest in a push for WorldTour status, were able to pry him away from Patrick Lefevere’s team, where he’d been for eight years.  

Terpstra has been open about the fact that money was a major factor in his decision – this being, at 34, perhaps his last big contract – but also insisted he was keen for a new challenge. He raced in the black and yellow for the first time at the GP La Marseillaise – won by teammate Anthony Turgis – at the start of February, followed by the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana last week. This week he’ll be fine-tuning his Classics form at the Tour of Oman.   

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“I was pretty open to it. I think if you go to a new team you don’t know exactly what to expect, so I was pretty open minded but until now I am satisfied,” Terpstra said ahead of the first stage in Oman.   

“It’s going pretty well. Niccolo Bonfazio already has some wins [three at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo -ed] and Marseillaise was good. It’s been a nice start for the team.”  

Terpstra revealed earlier this month that, when working on team time trialling at a training camp, he’d had to encourage the coaches to draw up a road map and pay attention to the technical aspects of the discipline. That said, he insisted there were no genuine deficiencies at his new home.  

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