An evocative cycling transfer, half a fairy tale. After being without a team for more than a year, Julien Vermote receives a one-year professional contract with Visma – Lease a Bike. The final details of the one-year contract are still pending, but Vermote will definitely go on an internship in Spain from Monday. No more funfair races. The 34-year-old racing driver from Kortrijk can race for a year together with Wout van Aert in the best team in the world.
Nineteenth at the Belgian Championships and places of honor to Puivelde Koerse (sixth), Schaal Sels Merksem (fifth), GP Briek Schotte Desselgem (sixth), Autumn Criterion Oostrozebeke (fifth) and East Flemish Closing Prize to Zele (third). Julien Vermote’s 2023 season in a nutshell. Life as it is: Elite pilot without a contract.
At the end of 2022, the West Flemish was told (very late) by Alpecin-Deceuninck that his expiring contract would not be extended. Despite notable accolades that year, he was in the selections for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix as assistant to Mathieu van der Poel, he did not find a new professional team for 2023. However, Vermote did not feel ready with cycling professional, and he remained attentive and launched himself into the right circuit. With the help of local sponsors like Solar, Secteur and Vitori, he was able to continue practicing his passion in hopes of being under the spotlight of a professional team. He performed well with decent results, but his quest for the 2024 season also ended in fiasco… At least that’s what he threatened.
Julien Vermote, in blue suit. ©Hans Fruyt
Until this week, a miracle, a fairy tale. Since Visma – Lease a Bike suddenly needs reliable assistants due to the retirement of Lennard Hofstede, Vermote ended up on the Dutch team’s radar. Vermote is already 34 years old, but he still doesn’t feel tired and has a lot of experience as a model teammate. He began his professional career in 2011 at Quick-Step and seemed to be on his way to becoming a permanent fixture. However, at the end of 2017 he left Patrick Lefevere’s team, at the request of Mark Cavendish, who took his faithful Belgian teammate with him to Team Dimension Data. Once Cavendish no longer had much of a say after two years, Vermote had to leave the South African team and ended up at Alpecin-Deceuninck after a year at Cofidis. His career looked like it was all over by the end of 2022. Until now. Julien Vermote receives a unique opportunity from sporting director Merijn Zeeman with the best team in the world and can prove himself for a year together with Wout van Aert.
At the moment the final details of the contract are still being defined, but from Monday 8 January Vermote will join his new teammates for an internship in Spain. He becomes the fifth Belgian professional cyclist at Visma-Lease a Bike, together with Van Aert, Tiesj Benoot, Cian Uijtdebroeks and Tosh Van Der Sande.
© BELGIUM
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2024-01-06 14:55:35
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