Cycling News, Notes and Quotes: August 15, 2011

More moves and extensions, rampup to ‘cross season, Iljo Keisse races in Denmark and more in the cycling news, notes and quotes for August 15, 2011

Transfers:

• Jurgen Van den Broeck is said to have made a decision about his team for 2012. The Belgian rider seems to be heading for the new Lotto team. He says that he’ll announce his destination just before the start of the Vuelta.
• 22 year old neo-professional John Degenkolb will move from the defunct HTC-Highroad squad to Skil-Shimano in 2012. The move was confirmed by Skil-Shimano team manager Merijn Zeeman. Degenkolb, who won two stages in the Dauphine, is the fifth acquisition for Skil-Shimano as they hope to acquire ProTeam ranking in the new year.
• Oscar Freire will do another year at Rabobank. He will ride the Vuelta before taking a crack at the World Championships. The 35 year old Spaniard would like to stay active and ride for his country in the 2012 Olympics as well.
• Sergio Luis Henao put in an impressive performance at the Tour of Utah and it was apparently enough to catch the eye of Team Sky, who signed the 23 year old Colombian to a two year contract. Henao, who currently rides for the continental team Gobernacion de Antioquia, recently took the overall victory in the Tour of Colombia.
• Rudy Molard (22), an amateur rider with the CC Etupes team that rode last week in the Tour de l’Ain has signed a two year contract with Cofidis.
•  Team Sky rider Kurt-Asle Arvesen will look to go out with a bang, officially wrapping up his career after taking one more go at the Vuelta a Espana. The 36-year-old has decided is one of the sport’s most experienced riders and belongs to an exclusive list of those that have tasted victory in each of the three Grand Tours.
• Belgian Thomas de Gendt has extended his contract with Vacansoleil through 2013. When Thomas joined us, we were convinced of his potential. His development has, however, exceeded all expectations,” said team manager Daan Luijkx.