'It made it clear to everyone that I'm on the market' – Belgian rider explains work for Carapaz at Giro d'Italia

Belgian racer Dries De Bondt had a very busy three weeks at the Giro d'Italia, making the breakaway on six occasions and often battling with Mads Pedersen at mid-stage intermediate sprints, efforts which saw him celebrate a win in that minor classification on the final podium in Rome.

However, the 33-year-old's actions on the penultimate stage over the Colle delle Finestre attracted attention as much as any of his others during the Grand Tour. After making the day's early breakaway, he was eventually caught by the GC favourites on the brutal climb, with Simon Yates having already launched what would be his Giro-winning attack up the road.

But De Bondt didn't just let the maglia rosa contenders flow past him. Instead, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider sat on the front to pace the chase group behind Yates, providing several minutes of tow for Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

Watching a breakaway rider not known as a climber and with no connection to either man put in work in the chase was a strange sight, but De Bondt has explained exactly what he was up to during stage 20.

"I still haven't received clarity from my team whether I will be allowed to stay in 2026. So, it seemed like a good idea to market myself during the Giro," De Bondt told WielerFlits, explaining that he told fellow Belgian, EF Education-EasyPost coach Ken Vanmarcke, during the race, "If you're looking for riders for 2026, I'm still on the market."

De Bondt said he alerted several teams to his availability during the race, while Vanmarcke came back to him with a proposition ahead of stage 20. Not for a contract, but for a deal of sorts.

"Before the team presentation of stage 20, Vanmarcke said to me, 'Are you planning anything today?'" De Bondt said.

"'It's going to be very difficult for us to send riders into the early breakaway. But look, if you're in there and you can play a role somewhere that's important in the final result, something serious can come from that.' That's what inspired me to do what I did for Carapaz.

That led to the sight of him working on the front for the Ecuadorian, who ended up stuck in a stalemate with Del Toro as Yates raced off up the road to a famous Giro d'Italia victory.

De Bondt admitted that "Yates was too strong" but said that his three-minute pull on the front closed the gap to the Briton from 22 seconds down to just eight.

"At 73kg, my wattages were a lot higher than those of the climbers. They could see Yates riding; he wasn't even that far ahead of us," De Bondt said.

"I had hoped that they had the brains and the legs to close the gap. Then the game could start again. But that wasn't possible anymore."

De Bondt said that he received "lots of questions" about his actions on the Finestre. His answer was clear – "It made it clear to everyone that I'm on the market."

His Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team is all set to bring on board double Giro stage winner Olav Kooij and Tiesj Benoot from Visma-Lease A Bike for 2026. Het Laatste Nieuws has reported that Kooij will bring Daan Hoole, Cees Bol, and Robbe Ghys along as part of his sprint train.

De Bondt acknowledges the moves are likely to leave spaces at a premium on the 2026 Decathlon AG2R squad.

"I think I'm the victim of the arrival of other riders," he said. "Those guys are also going to bring riders with them, which means there are fewer spots left, so then the team has to think hard about how they want to fill the remaining spots. It's not easy for the team to extend everyone who is out of contract.

"Whether I will end up at EF, I don't know. If they bring me to the table with the right people to talk to, that's already a victory in itself. They only have to give me a contract if they're convinced they can use me there."