Monfort in talks with Trek and Lotto Belisol

Maxime Monfort has been linked with a move to Lotto Belisol for 2014 but in spite of reports to the contrary, the Belgian has stressed that it is still possible that he will race for Trek next season.

Monfort’s contract with RadioShack-Leopard expires at the end of this season and a report in Gazet van Antwerpen this week suggested that he and Andreas Klöden would not be retained by the squad in 2014, when Trek takes over sponsorship and ownership of the squad’s WorldTour licence.

“I was surprised to read that,” Monfort told La Dernière Heure, explaining that he was still in talks with the team. “Even if, at this stage of the negotiations, I don’t want to talk too much about the matter, I can still tell you that I clearly haven’t been squeezed out at Trek.

“It even made me laugh a bit when I saw that there wasn’t a place for me next year, especially when I read online that the veterans Klöden and Monfort wouldn’t be retained on the team in 2014. To be considered a veteran at 30 years of age – thanks, that’s nice! But the door isn’t closed with Trek.”

Monfort, who finished 14th in this year’s Tour de France, confirmed that he has been in discussions with Lotto Belisol about the possibility of switching to the team for next season. The Walloon acknowledged that he has long been a target of Marc Sergeant.

“It’s not new, it’s six years that I’ve been in talks with that team,” Monfort said. “I hope that it’s all going to be decided very quickly.”