ProTeam Meet the Lotto Soudal youngsters: Sylvain Moniquet

As the new cycling season gets underway, Lotto Soudal is also welcoming some new faces to the WorldTeam. One of them is the 23-year-old Sylvain Moniquet. The young Belgian from Namur is a climber type and starts his professional cycling career at Lotto Soudal. Get to know neo-pro Sylvain Moniquet.

"The season could have started in a better way, of course. In my first race, Le Samyn, I crashed quite badly after the tube came off my rim as I hit a rolling bidon. It ended well, but I'm eager to show a lot in 2021. You have to know that at the start of the new year, it hadn’t really sunk in yet that I’d become a professional cyclist. However, it immediately became clear during the January team training camp”, begins Sylvain Moniquet.

“The infrastructure and the level of support we are receiving is another step forward compared to my time at the U23 category. My first training camp as a pro went perfectly, it was a really nice experience. I was part of the climbers’ group and trained together with some familiar faces such as Maxim Van Gils, Kobe Goossens and Xandres Vervloesem. I know Xandres all too well as he prevented me from taking the overall victory at the Ronde de l’Isard last year, where I wore the leader’s jersey until the final stage. We often joke about it, but always in a fun way. In the end, it still is a nice memory and I hope we can make many more, this time as teammates.”

Moniquet was part of the Groupama-FDJ Continental team last year and impressed with top ten results in the general classification of the famous Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc and the Ronde de l’Isard. The 23-year-old also finished fourth at Il Piccolo Lombardia. At the January training camp, Moniquet laid the foundations for his first season as a pro.  

Sylvain Moniquet: “The team training camp in Spain was the ideal moment to estimate your shape and to lay the foundations for the season to come. During a training camp, it definitely isn’t about riding to exhaustion, but about preparing yourself for the upcoming season in an intelligent way. Of course, there still are tough days and the difference compared to the U23 category is definitely noticeable, it just goes that little bit faster. But with Maxime Monfort as performance manager, we receive the best support possible.”

Moniquet is one of the many youngsters Lotto Soudal signed. At the January training camp, the 23-year-old from Wallonia was part of a mainly Dutch speaking training group, but luckily Moniquet already has some knowledge of the Flemish language.

“I am happy to be one of the many young guys at Lotto Soudal. It makes the integration within the team just a little easier. Everyone has an open mind and there’s a nice atmosphere. At training camp, the main language within our group was Flemish, but fortunately I already learned a lot of the language being part of the national team. Of course, you learn the basics at school, but thanks to cycling I have definitely improved my knowledge. One of the many positive effects of cycling! Luckily, thanks to Tomasz MarczyÅ„ski, we could also speak some English during the training camp”, says Sylvain Moniquet with a wink.

“Of course, I am really motivated for my first season as a professional cyclist. My provisional race schedule is looking quite impressive with for example the Ardennes Classics. I didn’t expect to compete in such races during my first year as a pro. But I know I have to keep both feet on the ground and keep working hard to achieve my goals”, concludes Moniquet.

Image: Photo News