Jurgen Van den Broeck will remain with Silence-Lotto (Omega Pharma-Lotto) in 2010. He thinks he will be one of the team's leaders since the departure of Cadel Evans for BMC.

"I feel at home with the team," said Van den Broeck. "They give me the necessary freedom in my preparation. I didn't hesitate in accepting the new proposal put forward to me by the team."

During the 2009 Tour de France the cyclist from Belgium finished at 15th position in the overall classification. He finished way ahead of Cadel Evans, who had a dreadful Tour de France. He also took 7th place overall at the 2008 Giro d'Italia.

"I think my performance in the Tour has proven that I can handle the pressure, even when I was racing in Evans' shadow," he said. "It will require me to take more responsibility and entail more stress, but I'll be 27 soon; it's an appropriate age to take the leadership."

The team has also hired Daniel Moreno (from Caisse d'Epargne), who will most likely be some kind of a leader too.