ProTeam Harry Sweeny to sign, Harm Vanhoucke to re-sign with Lotto Soudal
Two young riders, Australian Harry Sweeny (22) and Belgian Harm Vanhoucke (23) reached an agreement with WorldTour Team Lotto Soudal until end 2022. Sweeny is currently riding for Lotto Soudal Development Team while Vanhoucke is already part of Lotto Soudal since July 2018.
Harry Sweeny, from Warwick (Queensland, Australia) lives in Meerhout (Belgium) during the season. As a winner of a stage in the Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour, he joined the Lotto Soudal U23 team in 2020, where he proved to be a versatile rider.
“I am a particularly a rider for the classics and a good lead-out guy, but I can climb as well. In the last Tour Bitwa Warszawska and Baby Giro the team was apparently more than happy with my performance and commitment for the team. I am super excited to join the WorldTour team, where I will find my compatriot Caleb Ewan. We know each other quite well. He can count on me”, explains Harry Sweeny.
Harm Vanhoucke came to the pro category with high references as winner of the Piccolo Giro di Lombardia, Flèche Ardennaise and stage wins in Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc and Giro della Valle d'Aosta Mont Blanc. Harm is a climber.
“My first season in the team didn’t go as expected, as I suffered from anemia. The team gave me the necessary time to recover and with the help of my trainer Paul Van Den Bosch we fought back”, tells Harm Vanhoucke.
Two weeks ago Vanhoucke won the mountains classification in the Tour de Poitou-Charentes. Earlier this season he finished 12th in Tour de l’Ain and 10th in Vuelta a AndalucÃa Ruta del Sol.
“I feel good with Lotto Soudal. We have a nice family atmosphere in the team. Now I’m heading to the Tour de Luxembourg. After the Belgian Championships I will do my first Tour of Italy. I look forward to my first Giro”, concluded Harm Vanhoucke.