Lotto Soudal's veteran Belgian rider Thomas De Gendt agreed to two more years with the team today, signing a contract extension which will keep him at the team until 2024.
The 35-year-old breakaway specialist has already had success this year, securing the second Giro d'Italia stage victory of his career, a decade after his first, when he won on stage 8.
“In this team I have been able to become the rider that I always wanted to be: an attacker," De Gendt said. “The past eight years have been a success for the most part of it, with beautiful victories and great memories. I am looking forward to adding another two years.”
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The Belgian team, that change their name to Lotto-Dstny in 2023 following a change in sponsor, were keen to keep De Gendt on the books for as long he remained active.
CEO John Lelangue said, "his stage win in the Giro has proven once again what everybody already knew: with Thomas De Gendt you are never done."
De Gendt has been with the team since 2015, and is excited for the future. He expressed his enthusiasm over the direction in which the team are heading.
"I am very curious for the evolution of the team in the following years, with young talents such as Maxim Van Gils or Arnaud De Lie and also the new cosponsor coming on board."
Lotto Soudal, that face a battle to remain a WorldTour team in this relegation year, will lose veteran classics specialist Philippe Gilbert when he retires at the end of the 2022 season, so De Gendt's decision to stick around will be a source of comfort, as they retain wise heads to assist in the guidance of their rash of up-and-coming stars of the future.
