Australian Lucas Hamilton has scrapped his existing contract for a new and extended version for the second consecutive year as Mitchelton-SCOTT continue to advance him as their next general classification leader.
The new deal, which will see the 24-year-old continue with the Australian squad until the end of 2022, follows the guarantee by team owner Gerry Ryan to an additional two years of commitment after the COVID-19 difficulties earlier in the season.
Hamilton took his first WorldTour victory on stage four of Tirreno-Adriatico this year before going on to help teammate Simon Yates secure the overall title. Whilst his second Grand Tour, the 2020 Giro d’Italia, was cut short, Hamilton’s consistency on three-week debut in 2019 holds him in good stead for the near future.
With the departure of current leader Adam Yates and the emergence of younger general classification leaders, highlighted by both the 2020 Tour de France and Giro d’Italia champions being 25years or younger, Hamilton will step up to be one of Mitchelton-SCOTT’s main leaders over the next two seasons.
Lucas Hamilton:
“I’m really happy to be extending with this team, it really instils a lot of confidence in me that I can extend before my contract is up and means I can just focus on the job at hand.
“I always really enjoyed racing with Adam and learnt a lot from the way he races. It’s sad to see him go but I think it does open some doors for me to take on more leadership roles and really try for bigger results in bigger races.
“I think the sport this year has shown that guys around my age and younger are starting to be the winners more often than not and it does give me a lot of motivation. I know a lot of the guys and have raced them for a long time so I look forward to trying to reach the level some of them have already reached.”
Matt White – Head Sport Director:
“We’ve seen a really steady progression in Lucas’ development and we see a big future with Lucas as a leader in this team.
“From the limited Grand Tour experiences he has, the 2020 Giro start was just his second Grand Tour, he is definitely a guy that has the potential and is going to lead us in three-week race and with Adam (Yates) leaving the team there is going to be even more opportunities for him.
“To be able to extend his contract is a big benefit to us an organisation going forward and a sign of the confidence we have in Lucas leading our team into the future.”
Lucas Hamilton:
Date of birth: 12 February 1996 (24)
Nationality: Australian
Joined Mitchelton-SCOTT: 2018
New Contract: 2021 – 2022 (former contract 2020-2021)
Top results:
– 1st 2020 Tirreno-Adriatico – Stage 4
– 1st 2019 Coppi e Bartali – General Classification
– 2nd 2020 National Championships Australia – Road Race
