Steels ends career with Landbouwkrediet

Belgian Tom Steels (Predictor Lotto) will move to Landbouwkrediet for his final year in the sport. His goal is the Olympic Games in Beijing, where he wants to race on the track, according to Sporza. "Together with Steve Schets, Dominique Cornu and Bert Roesems I want to do the pursuit, but first we'll have to qualify," cautioned Steels that the way to China is still long.

His desire to return to Landbouwkrediet came from the fact that he rode for them in 2003 and 2004. "The last six months, which I want to ride full gas, should be in a familiar environment," the quadruple Belgian champion mentioned. After his career, "we will see. I am in talks about accompanying the young track riders."

With his new pursuit team, he will ride all the World Cup events, acknowledging that it's no mean feat. "We aren't used to each other yet. The chances that we can qualify for the Games, I'll put them at 50 percent." Team coach Michael Vaarten however said that "Tom has a lot of experience on the track," and rated the chances pretty good for the four riders to actually make it to Beijing.