Harsh Wuyts thinks Van Gils' breach of contract suits his image, agents understand choice

It seems to be a trend in cycling: riders who are dissatisfied with their current situation and then announce that they want to leave. However, Yannick Prévost, manager of Wout van Aert and others, thinks that is inaccurate. "I honestly don't think this is a recent phenomenon. If you look at the incidents in the last ten years, there are very few."

It's rare but not uncommon in cycling. Situations change, and then action is needed, agrees former manager Paul De Geyter with Sporza. "I used to help some riders transfer to another team before the end of their contract,' says the man, who, among others, let Tom Boonen leave US Postal for Quick-Step in 2002. Prévost does think it should not be a regular thing but should only be done when the situation becomes unbearable. 'We have to be careful that there is no proliferation of unilateral terminations."

According to Jan Bakelants, time has caught up with Van Gils. He has made more progress than he expected himself to. In HLN: "I was shocked that Van Gils had already extended his contract this spring. His manager at the time either didn't do such a great job or wasn't convinced of his rider's qualities. Because after that contract extension, Van Gils reconfirmed in the Walloon classics, it must have dawned on him that he could earn better."

Should that then be a reason to become impatient? De Geyter compares it to soccer. "If someone from a smaller soccer team can make a transfer to a bigger soccer team, everyone thinks that is a logical step in a career." Money is not necessarily the decisive factor, the analysts in question think. "When a rider from Lotto-Dstny can go to a team where the support is better, that rider is depicted as a gold digger. I find that wrong," is the indeed logical conclusion.

Michel Wuyts, Belgian cycling journalist, writes in a blazing column in HLN that Van Gils' image is getting another crack after several incidents in the past. "From chatty lookalike of Jommeke (a Belgian comic book character) to ruthless guy, it only took a year." But: "Wages times four, so they say. That would benefit Van Gils and Alex Carera (his business manager, ed.). Loss of image? Van Gils won't care anymore in 2025. I hope Lotto will be fairly compensated for losing a leader."

The compensation will be necessary anyway. Lotto is still waiting for a new sponsor, and several riders have previously mentioned leaving. For example, Jarno Widar was very vocal about his dissatisfaction with the formation not long ago. He was unhappy with how Lotto Dstny treated him: they let him ride too many races. After the Tour de l'Avenir, where he collapsed completely as a top favorite, he said, "They didn't listen to me, and now we see where that leads." Rumors of a high-profile departure then circulated, where the 18-year-old climber could move to an absolute top team.

But the youngster was not the only one considering making the next move. Indeed, Victor Campenaerts and Florian Vermeersch chose to leave. Well, choose: in Florian's case, he said the choice was made for him. "We had negotiations where they said they would like to keep me. But in the end, they offered me nothing." Another less familiar name who left was Yana Seel, Chief Business Officer. She had to deal with everything outside Lotto Dstny's athletic performance but left the team due to financial missteps.

The culprit? According to Seel, it was Stéphane Heulot, the formation's CEO. He would be responsible for stalling negotiations with sponsor Dstny, who thus disappears from the jersey after 2024. That suddenly caused things to change, so many riders, including the much-beloved Vermeersch, could leave. Likewise, his actions regarding Widar are certainly not uncontroversial. Whether he will stay also remains to be seen.

Sporza analyst Christophe Vandegoor concludes: "The contract he renewed at the beginning of the year no longer corresponds to someone who can compete for the podium in spring classics. That is where the problem lies. The problem with Lotto-Dstny is that Dstny has not exercised its option to continue as a sponsor. So Lotto has to watch its finances and doesn't have the funds to offer more."