Israel Startup Nation's Alex Doucet has announced that he has been handed a two-year contract that will keep him in the pro peloton until at least the end of 2022, but he is yet to reveal whether it is a contract extension with his current team or a move elsewhere.

In a YouTube video released over the weekend, the 32-year-old, a six-time British Time Trial champion, said he started thinking about what he would have done instead if he had not been given a new contract.

He also said that his spectacular solo victory on stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia in October was the second non-TT win of his career, following his stage win at the 2011 Tour du Poitou-Charentes (where he also won the overall at the 2015 Bayern Lundfahrt) and helped open several doors.

"After the Giro, it became clear that I was a little worried about what I would be doing for the next couple of years," he said. 'I'm going to be a professional cyclist for at least the next two years.'

"That's good to hear. I've been really confused for a while. ...... I was considering all options. Winning a stage of the Giro turned out to be quite useful for me to stay in the bike racing world.

Dowsett suggested that he was considering other careers and lifestyles before the new deal came through.

"I was very open minded about what I was going to do, and I have to be honest with you, it was a lot of fear at first to start thinking about a life outside of racing.

"I like to think I understand the world, but the truth is, being a professional bike rider gives you a skewed view of what the outside world is. But I was coming around to the idea that I could be a stay-at-home dad or potentially find a job on the other side of cycling.

"So, for when all is said and done, perhaps this experience this year will have made life a little easier. But fortunately, that won't happen in 2021 or 2022."

Doucette also added later in the video that he will try to maintain some fitness during the winter months rather than taking an extended break from cycling this year, as the cycling season is forced to take a break due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"I've decided not to do an 'off season' this year. I won't do a full four-week "off-season," as pro cyclists often do," he said, adding that he was able to "take my head off cycling" for a short period of time after the Giro.

"I took four days off the bike and went to the wind tunnel for a day. He said, "Each Grand Tour is different, so I'm just trying to gauge my recovery. By the end of the Giro I was on my hands and knees at times, but the recovery varies."