2023-11-18 14:50:53
Published on November 18, 2023 at 3:50 p.m. – updated on November 18, 2023 at 3:52 p.m. Mathieu Warnier
Through a message published on social networks, Belgian rider Thomas De Gendt announced that the 2024 season will be his last in the professional peloton, with the desire to enjoy his final races.
Thomas De Gendt is preparing his exit. Accustomed to major solo raids during the most beautiful races on the cycling calendar, the Belgian rider clarified his future this Saturday through a message published on social networks. “ 2024 will be the start of my 16th and final season as a professional runner », announced the native of Saint-Nicolas via his account Twitter. At 37 years old, the one who is one of the riders having won at least one stage on each of the three Grand Tours, adding the jersey of best climber of the Vuelta in 2018 then the combativeness prize of the Giro 2020, intends not to change anything in his character when concluding a career that began in 2009 at Topsport-Vlaanderen before going through the Vacansoleil-DCM training then, after the only 2014 season at Omega Pharma-Quick Step, joining the ranks of the team currently known as Lotto-Dstny.
De Gendt plans to shine before leaving
Indeed, Thomas De Gendt has already given clues concerning his objectives for what will be his last dance in the professional peloton. “ My big goals will be a sixth stage victory in the Tour of Catalonia and a second stage victory in the Vueltahe added on social networks. But, above all, I will enjoy every race I can participate in this final year.. » Precisely, the organizers of the Catalan event have already given him an appointment for the 2024 edition of the event. His Lotto-Dstny team, for its part, assured that it wanted to “make it great”. We should therefore not be surprised to see him more than ever on the attack, he who has made major raids one of his specialties, notably when he won the 8th stage of the Tour de France 2019 in Saint-Etienne, after having resisted the return of Thibaut Pinot and Julian Alaphilippe. The professional peloton will thus lose one of its emblematic characters.
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