Matthew Holmes and Stef Klass have signed one-year contract extensions and will remain with Lotto Soudal for 2022. Both players joined the Belgian team ahead of the 2020 campaign.

Holmes began his tenure at the World Tour level by winning the Tour Down Under's Willunga Hill, his first win with Lotto-Soudal. He then made his Grand Tour debut at the 2020 Giro d'Italia.

The Wigan native finished sixth at this year's Vuelta a España on the summit of Pico Vilhuelcas, but fell ill in the final week of the race and finished outside the time limit on stage 19.

"I am really looking forward to next year. Especially after past team days where we worked on new material, training schedules, and many other aspects," Holmes said in a statement released by the team. [Lot Soudal really feels like "his" team. It's a professional environment and I really feel like I'm part of the team now."

Holmes said that the team is "very happy to be here.

Holmes raced at the continental level with Madison Genesis before making the step up to the World Tour at age 25.

"I look back on the last two seasons with great pleasure," he said. I may not have had the year I was hoping for, but I still managed to win a World Tour race on my first professional contract. I am still very proud of this feat. I've come close to winning a few stages in the Grand Tours, and I'm confident I can do it again next year."

"I know I have the ability, and after two seasons in the World Tour, I know perfectly well what I can and cannot do. So next year I want to focus on breakaways, both in the Grand Tours and in other stage races."

The move from Katusha to Lotto-Soudal in 2020 was a homecoming of sorts for Steph Klass, who raced for the Belgian team as an under-23 rider. Although a back injury forced him to abandon last year's Tour de France and a coronavirus infection ruined the first half of his 2021 campaign, he showed his qualities as a climber at the Vuelta a España, finishing 20th overall.

"Personally, after two seasons with a lot of bad luck, the contract extension is a psychological boost. I want to focus again on good placings in the shorter stage races and stage wins in the Grand Tours." In addition, of course, I will assist the team as much as I can. The second half of the season has given me confidence for the races ahead."

Lotto Soudal has acquired five new players for 2022. Caleb Yuan signed a contract extension and continues to lead the team, but the longtime Direction Sportif pair of Marc Serge and Hermann Frisson will not be at Lot Soudal in 2022, as their contracts were not renewed.