His cross country and track eligibility exhausted at Kansas University, Brian Jensen still felt the need to work out and compete. His wife, Michelle, was into cycling, so he decided to give it a try.

Now he’s a professional.

Mike Vickers, the so-called “patriarch” of Lawrence cycling, held a signing party Tuesday night at Free State Brewery for Jensen, who signed a one-year contract with The Jelly Belly/Pool Gel Pro Cycling Team.

Jensen, a Wayne Gretzky look-alike, will be competing throughout the country and in Australia.

“Now that he’s out of here, the races are going to be a little slower around here,” cyclist Phil Gronninger said.

Leonard Krishtalka, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at KU, didn’t let the outcome of the evolution vote that went the way he didn’t want it to go keep him from coming to the party to show support for Jensen.

Krishtalka praised Jensen for showing up at South Park on Sunday mornings at 8:30 for four-hour rides and for going out front to break the wind, which “makes it easier for all the rest of us. That’s what kind of a guy he is.”

From left, Bob Sanner and Mike Vickers visit with pro cyclist Brian Jensen during a signing party at Free State Brewery. Jensen signed a one-year contract with the Jelly Belly pro cycling team.

A native of Denmark, Jensen, 29, came to KU on scholarship as a distance runner after transferring from Oklahoma State. He used up his eligibility in 2000.

Jensen, still pursuing a civil engineering degree from KU, signed a contract that guarantees him a modest base salary, plus expenses, and he also will compete to earn purses he will share with the team.

“I don’t do it for the money,” said Jensen, who unlike most professional athletes who say they don’t do it for the money, actually doesn’t do it for the money. “I do it for the fun and for the competition.”

And for the free jelly beans.

Jensen finished third in the Collegiate Road Nationals in cycling last year.