Chaves extends with Orica – BikeExchange through 2019

Fresh off claiming Colombia’s first-ever victory in one of cycling’s five monuments at Il Lombardia, Esteban Chaves has extended his contract with Orica – BikeExchange for a further three seasons, the team announced Tuesday.

The 26-year-old has enjoyed the strongest season of his career, taking runner-up honors and a stage at the Giro d’Italia and third overall behind Movistar’s Nairo Quintana and Sky’s Chris Froome at the Vuelta a España to go with his monumental one-day win in Italy.

Chaves has been with Orica since 2014. The team signed him while he was still recovering from a bad crash at the 2013 Trofeo Laguiglea that left him with a collarbone fracture, broken bones in his face, and serious nerve damage to his arm. Though he was then among cycling’s top prospects, it was unclear at the time whether he’d be able to fully recuperate and deliver at the same level again. Signing him appears to have worked out well for Orica.

“I had a hard start [following the career-threatening crash],” Chaves said via a team release. “But the good thing is that every year we set some objectives and every year we meet these objectives and do a little bit more.

“It has been a special three years with this team and if we continue on this line, good things will come. We have a really young team, there are a lot of strong guys under 30, so if we keep growing together over the next few years we will be really strong in all of the races.

“I am super happy here and it is like one family. I never think to stay here for a couple of years and then look somewhere else because I am 100% happy here. I want to stay here with the people who gave me the opportunity when no one else gave me the opportunity or believed in me.”